HOUSE AMENDED
PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 817, 1662, 2228 PRINTER'S NO. 2379
No. 753 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY STOUT, CORMAN, STEWART, BRIGHTBILL, PUNT, LEMMOND,
PORTERFIELD, MADIGAN, AFFLERBACH, REIBMAN AND PETERSON,
MARCH 23, 1989
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
JUNE 26, 1990
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess., P.L.95, No.38
2 1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower cities,
3 boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly, to
4 provide for protection against floods by erecting and
5 constructing certain works and improvements, located within
6 or without their territorial limits, and within or without
7 the county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur
8 indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited;
9 to issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability;
10 and to acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such
11 purposes," further regulating purchases and bidding on such
12 purchases; AND PROVIDING A PENALTY. <--
13 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14 hereby enacts as follows:
15 Section 1. Section 3 of the act of August 6, 1936 (Sp.Sess.,
16 P.L.95, No.38 1/2), entitled "An act to authorize and empower
17 cities, boroughs, towns, and townships, separately or jointly,
18 to provide for protection against floods by erecting and
19 constructing certain works and improvements, located within or
20 without their territorial limits, and within or without the
21 county in which situate; and to expend moneys and incur
1 indebtedness; to assess benefits against property benefited; to
2 issue improvement bonds imposing no municipal liability; and to
3 acquire, take, injure or destroy property for such purposes,"
4 amended December 22, 1981 (P.L.553, No.163), is amended to read:
5 Section 3. (a) No such works or improvements, involving an
6 expenditure by any municipality or municipalities of more than
7 [four thousand dollars ($4,000)] ten thousand dollars ($10,000) <--
8 THE MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OR <--
9 MUNICIPALITIES TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000), shall be erected, <--
10 constructed or provided, except by contract let to the lowest
11 responsible bidder after due advertisement, once a week for two
12 successive weeks in at least one newspaper of general
13 circulation: Provided, however, That no contract shall be
14 required to be let for the performance of the work on any such
15 work or improvement where the cost of the labor shall be paid by
16 the Federal Government, or any agency thereof, without cost to
17 the municipality or municipalities.
18 (B) THE MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL ABOVE WHICH COMPETITIVE <--
19 BIDDING SHALL BE REQUIRED SHALL BE ONE PER CENTUM OF THE TOTAL
20 OF ALL BUDGETS ADMINISTERED BY THE MUNICIPALITY OR
21 MUNICIPALITIES, BUT IN NO CASE SHALL THE MONETARY THRESHOLD BE
22 LESS THAN FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS ($4,000), NOR MORE THAN TEN
23 THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000).
24 (C) (B) WRITTEN OR TELEPHONIC PRICE QUOTATIONS FROM AT LEAST <--
25 THREE QUALIFIED AND RESPONSIBLE CONTRACTORS SHALL BE REQUESTED
26 FOR ALL CONTRACTS THAT EXCEED FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS ($4,000) BUT
27 ARE LESS THAN THE AMOUNT REQUIRING ADVERTISEMENT AND COMPETITIVE
28 BIDDING OR, IN LIEU OF PRICE QUOTATIONS, A MEMORANDUM SHALL BE
29 KEPT ON FILE SHOWING THAT FEWER THAN THREE QUALIFIED CONTRACTORS
30 EXIST IN THE MARKET AREA WITHIN WHICH IT IS PRACTICABLE TO
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1 OBTAIN QUOTATIONS. A WRITTEN RECORD OF TELEPHONIC PRICE
2 QUOTATIONS SHALL BE MADE AND SHALL CONTAIN AT LEAST THE DATE OF
3 THE QUOTATION, THE NAME OF THE CONTRACTOR AND THE CONTRACTOR'S
4 REPRESENTATIVE, THE CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION, REPAIR,
5 MAINTENANCE OR WORK WHICH WAS THE SUBJECT OF THE QUOTATION AND
6 THE PRICE. WRITTEN PRICE QUOTATIONS, WRITTEN RECORDS OF
7 TELEPHONIC PRICE QUOTATIONS AND MEMORANDA SHALL BE RETAINED FOR
8 A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS.
9 (b) (D) (C) No municipality shall evade the provisions of <--
10 this section as to advertising for bids or purchasing materials
11 or contracting for services piece-meal, for the purpose of
12 obtaining prices under ten thousand dollars ($10,000) THE <--
13 MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OR MUNICIPALITIES
14 TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000) upon transactions which should in <--
15 the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence be conducted
16 as one transaction amounting to more than ten thousand dollars <--
17 ($10,000) THE MONETARY THRESHOLD LEVEL FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OR <--
18 MUNICIPALITIES TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($10,000). This provision is <--
19 intended to make unlawful the practice of evading advertising
20 requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts each
21 for less than the advertising requirement price, or by making
22 several simultaneous purchases or contracts each below said
23 price, when in either case the transaction involved should have
24 been made as one transaction for one price.
25 (D) ANY MEMBER OF A GOVERNING BODY OF A MUNICIPALITY WHO <--
26 VOTES TO UNLAWFULLY EVADE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION AND WHO
27 KNOWS THAT THE TRANSACTION UPON WHICH HE SO VOTES IS OR OUGHT TO
28 BE A PART OF A LARGER TRANSACTION AND THAT IT IS BEING DIVIDED
29 IN ORDER TO EVADE THE REQUIREMENTS AS TO ADVERTISING FOR BIDS,
30 COMMITS A MISDEMEANOR OF THE THIRD DEGREE FOR EACH CONTRACT
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1 ENTERED INTO AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THAT VOTE.
2 (c) (E) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, <--
3 alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of public works
4 shall comply with the provisions of the act of March 3, 1978
5 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the "Steel Products Procurement Act."
6 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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