Senate of Pennsylvania senate democratic wrap-up for the 1989-1990 Legislative Session

House Bill 1774 states that if a county performs a property reassessment revision then it shall use the established pre-determined ratio instead of the common level ratio for that year.

Under the measure, the amount is increased from $2,000 to $4,000 a year. Supporters argued the increase was needed because of rising advertising costs.

House Bill 837 (Act 72/1989) affects first class townships; House Bill 838 (Act 73/1989), boroughs; and, House Bill 839 (Act 74/1989), second class townships.

The bills give local officials the authority to reject all bids if the bids are less than the fair market value of the property. The township commissioners, borough council, or township supervisors may establish a minimum bid based on the fair market value of the property.

*** Microfilming Mortgages OK'd -- Legislation has been signed by the governor (Act 61/1989) that allows county recorders of deeds to microfilm postponements of mortgages without marginal notations.

Most recorders of deeds microfilm mortgages to save storage space. This process, however, makes marginal notations --literally notes written in the margins of the mortgage document-- impossible. Senate Bill 726 allows postponements to be made by stipulation, agreement, or some other document and recorded without a marginal notation.

In addition, the new law allows the pension board to authorize members to elect to reduce their contributions to a lower pension class than that which was originally designated.

Under House Bill 895, any member of the police force shall be eligible to receive credit for military service provided that they are not receiving now, or in the future, retirement benefits for service under a retirement system which is wholly or partially paid for by any other governmental agency. An exception would be if a member is eligible to receive military retirement pay earned through a combination of active and non-active duty payable upon the attainment of a specific age and period of service.

House Bill 253 provides that members can vest under the following conditions: the filing of a written notice with the pension fund board of the intention to vest; a date of intended termination as a full time police officer and a termination date 30 days later than the date of vesting; the member's good standing with the police department on the date of the notice to vest; and, an indication by the board on the notice to vest of the highest annual average salary which was received during any five years of service preceding the date.

Benefits shall be computed by applying to the base amount, as determined by the salary indicated in the notice, the percentage of years of service actually rendered to the years of service which would have been completed had the individual continued as an employee until the minimum retirement date.

*** Prothonotary Fees --Legislation (HB 2139, Act 213/1990) was passed to permit prothonotary's in second class counties (Allegheny, Montgomery and Delaware) to increase fees for filing documents certain documents.

Under House Bill 2139, the cost for filing Commencement of Actions would increase $10 to $45; fictitious name registration would go up $1.50 to $41.50; and, fictitious corporate name registration would increase $1.50 to $51.50.

To qualify for a hunting license discount, a resident owner's land must comprise more than 80 contiguous acres, exclusive of safety zones in excess of 20 percent of the total acreage, and must be farmed under a conservation plan that does not conflict with the clean streams law and which meets Pennsylvania Code requirements for erosion control.

The measure would also allow the Game Commission to clear private land under its control for the purpose of providing feeding areas, increase to seven days the length of non-resident small game licenses, increase the issuing agent fee to 75 cents per license, and increase to $300,000 per year the amount the Commission may spend on deterrent fencing.

*** Limited Police Powers for Game Code Enforcement Officers -- The General Assembly passed legislation (HB 876, Act 180/1990) to grant limited police powers to full-time wildlife conservation officers when acting within the scope of their employment.

The measure was to enable such officers to pursue, apprehend, or arrest any individual suspected of a criminal violation. Officers (deputy officers are excluded) would also be permitted to execute warrants and serve subpoenas. The Game Commission's executive director would determine the scope of the police powers so that they are consistent with the commission's wildlife enforcement responsibilities.

The bill also gave the Fish Commission authorization to require $5 stamps for salmon and trout fishing and permitted fox hunting on Sundays.

*** State Fish Code Updated -- HB 650, an omnibus measure to update the state Fish Code by increasing fees and penalties, establishing new offenses and making a host of other changes, was enacted into law as Act 102/1989.

The new law doubled fines for second degree summary offenses and third degree misdemeanors and raised fines for summary offenses of the third degree from $10 to $25. The grading of certain criminal boating offenses and violations of regulations that protect fish and their habitat was increased under the bill.

The measure permitted the collection of issuing fees on stamps and licenses and increased fees on special permits or licenses. Class A and B lakes are classified based on their accessibility to the general public under the bill which also authorized permits for tagged-fish contests on boundary lakes where another state bounding Pennsylvania permits such contests, unless the contests threaten the fishery.

The law authorized qualified waterway patrolmen and hospital personnel to administer chemical tests to detect blood alcohol content or test for drugs if probable cause exists that a person has operated a watercraft under the influence.

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Steve Kniley, Howard Ondick, Jack Seitzinger