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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY GORDNER, M. WHITE, ALLOWAY AND BOSCOLA, APRIL 14, 2010 |
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| REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, APRIL 14, 2010 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), entitled, |
2 | as amended, "An act relating to counties of the first, third, |
3 | fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth classes; amending, |
4 | revising, consolidating and changing the laws relating |
5 | thereto; relating to imposition of excise taxes by counties, |
6 | including authorizing imposition of an excise tax on the |
7 | rental of motor vehicles by counties of the first class; and |
8 | providing for regional renaissance initiatives," further |
9 | providing for qualifications, eligibility and compensation |
10 | for district attorneys. |
11 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
12 | hereby enacts as follows: |
13 | Section 1. Section 1401 of the act of August 9, 1955 |
14 | (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code, amended July 14, |
15 | 2005 (P.L.312, No.57), is amended to read: |
16 | Section 1401. District Attorney; Qualifications; |
17 | Eligibility; Compensation.--(a) The district attorney shall be |
18 | a resident of the county, at least twenty-five years of age, and |
19 | a citizen of the United States, shall have been admitted to |
20 | practice as an attorney before the Supreme Court of this |
21 | Commonwealth for at least one year prior to taking the oath of |
22 | office and shall have resided in the county for which he is |
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1 | elected or appointed for one year next preceding his election or |
2 | appointment. |
3 | (f) No district attorney shall be eligible for a seat in the |
4 | Legislature or to any other office under the laws and |
5 | Constitution of the Commonwealth, excepting an office or |
6 | commission in the militia of the Commonwealth, during his |
7 | continuance in office. |
8 | (g) In counties of the eighth class, the district attorney |
9 | shall be full time where any of the following apply: |
10 | (1) The commissioners of the county have by ordinance fixed |
11 | the services of the district attorney at full time. An ordinance |
12 | under this clause may not be made between the first day for the |
13 | circulation of nominating petitions for the office of district |
14 | attorney and January 1 of the subsequent year. |
15 | (2) The president judge of the county court of common pleas |
16 | orders that the office of district attorney shall be full time. |
17 | Upon motion of the district attorney, the president judge shall |
18 | conduct a hearing and shall issue an order whether the office of |
19 | district attorney shall be full time within 180 days of the |
20 | filing of the motion. The order may be appealed by the district |
21 | attorney or the county commissioners in accordance with the |
22 | rules of appellate procedure. An order under this clause shall |
23 | take effect in 60 days. An order under this clause directing |
24 | that the office of district attorney be full time shall be made |
25 | if the president judge finds that two or more of the following |
26 | factors are present in the county: |
27 | (i) the average caseload of felony, misdemeanor and juvenile |
28 | cases for the past five years has exceeded two hundred per year; |
29 | (ii) the average caseload for homicide cases for the past |
30 | five years has equaled or exceeded one per year; |
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1 | (iii) the county has any State correctional facility, |
2 | juvenile detention facility, youth development center, youth |
3 | forestry camp, other licensed residential facility serving |
4 | children and youth, or mental health or mental retardation |
5 | facility or institution, with a population exceeding two hundred |
6 | fifty, or if the county has more than one such facility or |
7 | institution, the aggregate population of such facilities and |
8 | institutions exceeds two hundred fifty; |
9 | (iv) a major controlled substances transportation route |
10 | passes through the county; |
11 | (v) the average number of convictions under 75 Pa.C.S. § |
12 | 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or |
13 | controlled substance) or the former 75 Pa.C.S. § 3731 (relating |
14 | to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) |
15 | subject to the alcoholic ignition interlock statutory provision |
16 | requirements exceeds thirty per year; or |
17 | (vi) the county constitutes a single and separate judicial |
18 | district. |
19 | (g.1) In counties of the eighth class, a full time district |
20 | attorney shall notify the commissioners of the county of his |
21 | intention not to seek reelection no later than 90 days prior to |
22 | the first day for the circulation of nominating petitions for |
23 | the office of district attorney. Upon notification by a full |
24 | time district attorney that he does not intend to seek |
25 | reelection, the commissioners of the county may by ordinance fix |
26 | the services of the district attorney as part time. An ordinance |
27 | under this subsection may be made no later than 30 days prior to |
28 | the first day for the circulation of nominating petitions for |
29 | the office of district attorney. Notwithstanding the provisions |
30 | of subsection (g)(2), if the commissioners of a county elect to |
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1 | fix the services of the district attorney as part time under |
2 | this subsection, the president judge of the court of common |
3 | pleas shall not have the authority to order that the office of |
4 | district attorney shall be full time. |
5 | (h) In counties of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and |
6 | seventh class: |
7 | (1) Each part-time district attorney holding office on the |
8 | effective date of this subsection whose term expires January 7, |
9 | 2008, shall become full time on January 2, 2006, if, after |
10 | exercising due diligence in conducting an assessment of the best |
11 | interests of public safety and the administration of criminal |
12 | justice in the county, the part-time district attorney provides |
13 | written notice to the chairman of the county commissioners, the |
14 | Secretary of Revenue and the State Treasurer, no sooner than |
15 | December 1, 2005, and no later than December 30, 2005, of the |
16 | part-time district attorney's choice to serve as a full-time |
17 | district attorney. Where a part-time district attorney holding |
18 | office on the effective date of this act does not provide such |
19 | notice, the office of district attorney shall remain part time |
20 | for the remainder of the current term of office. |
21 | (2) A person who has been elected to the office of district |
22 | attorney in a county where the district attorney is part time |
23 | and whose term commences on January 2, 2006, shall, upon taking |
24 | the oath of office, be a full-time district attorney if, after |
25 | exercising due diligence in conducting an assessment of the best |
26 | interests of public safety and the administration of criminal |
27 | justice in the county, the district attorney-elect has provided |
28 | written notice to the chairman of the county commissioners, the |
29 | Secretary of Revenue and the State Treasurer no sooner than |
30 | December 1, 2005, and no later than December 30, 2005, of the |
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1 | district attorney-elect's choice to serve as a full-time |
2 | district attorney. Where the district attorney-elect does not |
3 | provide such notice, the office of district attorney shall |
4 | remain part time for the entire term of office commencing |
5 | January 2, 2006. |
6 | (3) A person seeking election or re-election as district |
7 | attorney in a county where the office of district attorney is a |
8 | part-time position after January 2, 2006, shall, upon election |
9 | and taking the oath of office, become a full-time district |
10 | attorney if, prior to the deadline for filing nomination |
11 | petitions or papers, the person has provided written notice to |
12 | the chairman of the county commissioners, the Secretary of |
13 | Revenue and the State Treasurer of the person's choice to serve |
14 | as a full-time district attorney. Where the person does not |
15 | provide such notice, the office of district attorney shall |
16 | remain part time for the entire term of office. |
17 | (i) [Once] Except as provided for in subsection (g.1), once |
18 | the office of district attorney becomes full time, it shall not |
19 | thereafter be changed. |
20 | (j) A full-time district attorney shall be compensated at |
21 | one thousand dollars ($1,000) lower than the compensation paid |
22 | to a judge of the court of common pleas in the respective |
23 | judicial district. |
24 | (k) In a county where the office of district attorney is |
25 | full time, the district attorney shall devote full time to the |
26 | office. The district attorney while in office, shall not derive |
27 | any other income as a result of honorariums, profit shares or |
28 | divisions of income from any firm with which the district |
29 | attorney was associated prior to election. This limitation shall |
30 | not be construed, however, to preclude payment of fees earned |
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1 | for legal work done prior to, but not concluded until after the |
2 | earlier of his being made full time or being sworn in as a full- |
3 | time district attorney. In addition the district attorney shall |
4 | not engage in any private practice and must be completely |
5 | disassociated with any firm with which the district attorney was |
6 | affiliated prior to the earlier of being made full time or being |
7 | sworn in as a full-time district attorney. The district |
8 | attorney-elect may not accept any civil or criminal cases after |
9 | being elected to the office. |
10 | (l) A part-time district attorney may have an outside |
11 | practice and shall be compensated, notwithstanding the |
12 | provisions of any other statutes, as follows: In counties of the |
13 | third or fourth class, the salary shall be sixty per cent of the |
14 | annual salary payable to the judge of the court of common pleas |
15 | of the judicial district of the county; in a county of the fifth |
16 | or sixth class, the salary shall be fifty per cent of the annual |
17 | salary payable to the judge of the court of common pleas of the |
18 | judicial district of the county; and in a county of the seventh |
19 | or eighth class, the salary shall be forty per cent of the |
20 | annual salary payable to the judge of the court of common pleas |
21 | of the judicial district of the county. |
22 | (m) Except as provided in [subsection (g)] subsections (g) |
23 | and (g.1), any office of district attorney that is part time on |
24 | January 2, 2012, shall become full time as of that date. |
25 | (n) In the event of a vacancy in the office of district |
26 | attorney, the person appointed to serve the remainder of the |
27 | unexpired term shall be bound by the election made in subsection |
28 | (h) for the remainder of said term. |
29 | (o) A district attorney shall be subject to the Rules of |
30 | Professional Conduct and the canons of ethics as applied to |
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1 | judges in the courts of common pleas of this Commonwealth |
2 | insofar as such canons apply to salaries, full-time duties and |
3 | conflicts of interest. Any complaint by a citizen of the county |
4 | that a full-time district attorney may be in violation of this |
5 | section shall be made to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme |
6 | Court of Pennsylvania. If any substantive basis is found, the |
7 | board shall proceed forthwith in the manner prescribed by the |
8 | rules of the Supreme Court and make such recommendation for |
9 | disciplinary action as it deems advisable, provided, however, |
10 | that if the Supreme Court deems the violation so grave as to |
11 | warrant removal from office, the prothonotary of the Supreme |
12 | Court shall transmit its findings to the Speaker of the House of |
13 | Representatives for such action as the House of Representatives |
14 | deems appropriate under Article VI of the Constitution of |
15 | Pennsylvania. |
16 | (p) The Commonwealth shall annually reimburse each county |
17 | with a full-time district attorney an amount equal to sixty-five |
18 | per cent of the district attorney's salary. |
19 | Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. |
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