Urban Affairs & Housing 2015-2016
The Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee met on Wednesday, October 16, 2016 and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Committed:
SB 1387 (Haywood): This bill amends the Housing Authorities Law by allowing victims of domestic violence to request relocation to another unit under the Authority’s control. The bill was reported as committed unanimously.
Reported Out as Amended:
SR 421 (Argall): This resolution calls on the President and Congress to review the changes made to the Federal floodplain management regulations. Senator Argall offered Amendment A10233, which removes language and adds a request to amend the Federal floodplain management regulations to allow applicants to be submitted to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for review under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
The Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee met on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 and took action as follows:
Reported Out as Amended:
HB 1437 (Goodman): The legislation reduces the amount of time the purchaser of a building has to bring any building or structure into compliance from 18 months to 12 months. The bill also provides consequences for for failure to comply with requirements. Senator Scavelo offered Amendment A09160, which makes changes to the application of this legislation to financial institutions that have acquired properties through deed forfeiture. The amendment also adds additional provisions for violations of the municipal code and makes judgments imposed by district judges or by municipal courts non-subjective to this legislation. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
HB 1774 (Brown): This bill amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) to allow condo and cooperative the ability to seek assistance and investigation from the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection in the event of a violation regarding meeting, quorums, voting, proxies and association records occurring within these communities. Senator Wagner offered Amendment A09757, which redefines definitions and makes technical changes. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
The Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee met on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 and took action as follows:
As Committed:
SB 20 (Fontana): This legislation amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) by adding to State statute that any seller who intends to sell real property discloses any lead paint in a home built before 1978. The bill was reported as committed unanimously.
SB 142 (Greenleaf): The legislation amends The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 to require a landlord to disclose a property’s flood history to a potential tenant. The bill was reported as committed unanimously.
SB 1282 (Wagner): This legislation amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) by adding provisions to clarify the manner in which a county Recorders of Deeds Office may charge fees for the recording of amendments to declarations of condominiums, cooperatives and planned communities. The bill was reported as committed 10-1.
HB 1500 (Caltagirone): This bill amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) that directs land banks to use a portion of their acquired blighted properties towards homeless housing facilities. The bill was reported as committed unanimously.
Reported Out as Amended:
SB 141 (Greenleaf): The legislation amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) by including in a property disclosure statement whether a property is located in a flood zone or wetlands and the frequency of its flooding history. Senator Bartlotta offered Amendment A08356, which makes technical changes to the bill. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
SB 666 (Folmer): This legislation amends the Uniform Planned Community Act of Title 68 to expand the approved voting methods of homeowner association (HOA) members to increase participation. Senator Killion offered Amendment A08380, which would expand the approved voting methods. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
SB 1307 (Browne): The bill amends the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act by adding that one’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression as a prohibited means of discrimination in terms of housing. Senator Fontana offered Amendment A08304, which would add that one’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression as a prohibited means of discrimination in terms of employment under the PA Human Relations Act. Senator Scavello discussed his concerns that the amendment should be voted upon in the Senate Labor and Industry Committee. The amendment was approved 6-5. Senator Scavello offered Amendment A08770, which would aim to “protect religious exercise and rights of conscience.” The amendment failed 5-6. The bill as amended was reported 7-4.
The Senate Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Monday, September 28, 2015 and took the following action:
Reported as Committed:
SB 942 (Argall) – This bill amends the Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act by reducing the amount of time an individual has after purchase to bring a building/structure that has at least one substantial violation up to compliance with the municipal code.
HB 792 (Killion) – This bill amends the House Finance Agency Law (Act 621 of 1959) to provide additional funding for the PA Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund.
HB 1340 (White) – This bill amends Title 68 (Real and Personal Property) with technical clarifications to the Uniform Planned Community Act (UPCA) and the Uniform Condominium Act (UCA)
The bills were all approved unanimously.
The Senate Urban Affairs & Housing Committee met on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 and took the following action:
Reported As Committed:
HB 447 (Saylor) – This bill amends the Landlord Tenant Act of 1951, by putting limits on the death payment provisions placed on the estate of a deceased tenant and their family.
Reported As Amended:
SB 877 (Argall) – This bill amends Title 53 by eliminating spot appeals of property assessments in Pennsylvania. The amendment which was offered was a technical amendment.
HB 613 (Ward) – This legislation allows developers and property owners to receive a tax abatement incentive once they apply and are approved to rebuild upon an abandoned or blighted property or in a deteriorated area.