Memorandum DATE: March 19, 2010 TO: ‘Township Secretaries County Association Presidents and Secretaries FROM: David M. seat Pbouive Director SUBJECT: 2010 Proposed Resolutions Enclosed you will find the proposed resolutions for consideration at the 2010 PSATS” Annual Educational State Conference and Trade Show, to be held April 18-21, 2010 in Hershey, PA. Except as noted, the resolutions were reviewed by the Association's Resolutions Committee at its meeting on March 3, 2010. The committee's actions are noted below each resolution. These resolutions will be printed in the conference program. We are providing them to you in advance so that townships may provide guidance to their delegates in voting at the general session on Tuesday, April 20, 2010. If you have any questions about the resolutions, please contact the Association at (717) 763-0930. See you in Hershey! Enclosure TE F I ce jee i ag 22 2010 = ay 2wSATS © 2010 PROPOSED PSATS RESOLUTIONS 10-1 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to require additional state grant funding to build the infrastructure necessary 10 address existing water quality and sewage problems to protect the community and encourage economic development. LYCOMING COUNTY SUPPORT 10-2 RESOLVED, That!PSATS seek legislation to fully fund the state Department of Environmental Protection's Sewage Facilities Enforcement Grants Program. LYCOMING COUNTY SUPPORT 10-3 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to create and fully fund state programs to construct and maintain essential flood protection infrastructure, including dikes, for the protection of businesses and residents, LYCOMING COUNTY SUPPORT 10-4 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to prohibit the state Department of, Environmental Protection from requiring municipalities to implement and enforce a sewage management program in any area of the municipslity without existing documented sewage needs, WAYNE COUNTY SUPPORT 10-5 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to prohibit the state Department of Environmental Protection from refusing to approve sewage planning modules while new regulations or policies are being developed. WAYNE COUNTY SUPPORT 10-6 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to modify Pa, Code Title 25 (Environmental Protection), Chapter 105, to develop a process to pre-authorize emergency issuance of all general permits needed to allow municipalities to remove any stream impediment, such as fallen trees or gravel bars, which occurs suddenly and for which delayed removal could contribute to local flooding, RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-7 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend Section 1310 of the Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 2008) to require the Office of Open Records to promulgate regulations by December 31, 2011, that would provide clearer guidance on the implementation and enforcement of the act ADAMS COUNTY SUPPORT 10-8 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 2008) 1 limit the number of requests per person to one per agency per month, AND FURTHER, that this request be limited in scope to no more than 15 documents. ADAMS COUNTY OPPOSE Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution could backfire and result in additional requests for local governments.10-9 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Section 708 of the Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 2008) to exempt personal identification information, including age, sex, race, home address, date of birth, signature, and health-related information, from disclosure under the Jaw. ADAMS COUNTY SUPPORT 10-10 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Section 708 of the Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 2008) to exempt predecisional deliberations between township supervisors, planning commission members, outside experts, and legal counsel from disclosure by deleting subparagraph (b)(10)4i). ADAMS COUNTY OPPOSE Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution was not necessary and could unintentionally lead to violations of the Sunshine Law. 10-11 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Section 1307 of the Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 2008) to allow local agencies to charge a reasonable fee to cover all costs associated with fulfilling open records requests, including labor costs for time spent traveling, duplicating documents, and providing online responses. ADAMS COUNTY SUPPORT 10-12 RESOLVED, That PSA'TS seek legislation to repeal the provisions of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Law (Act 442 of 1961). LYCOMING COUNTY SUPPORT 10-13 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Act 32 of 2008 to change the weighted voting system for tax collection committees to one that gives each local government represented an equal vote. TOWNSHIPS WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 2,000 BUT LESS THAN 5,000 COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-14 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Act 32 of 2008 to require that all costs related to the operation of a tax collection district be shared equally by all members of the tax collection committee for that district. ‘TOWNSHIPS WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 2,000 BUT LESS THAN 5,000 COMMITTEB OPPOSE Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution would be unfair to smaller municipalities 10-15 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Section 606(c)(1) of the Second Class Township Code to prohibit nonemployee township supervisors from participating in township-provided life, health, hospitalization, medical, and accident insurance plans at township expense, AND FURTHER, to authorize nonemployee township supervisors to participate in such plans at their own expense, BERKS COUNTY OPPOSE Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution would take local control away from townships,10-16 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend the Second Class Township Code to authorize township supervisor-employees to appeal their rate of employee compensation to the State Labor Relations Board if the compensation established by the board of auditors is, | unreasonable. CLEARFIELD COUNTY SUPPORT | 10-17 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Second Class Township Code to authorize the board of supervisors to appoint a certified public accountant to perform the annual audit by resolution without the need to place an annual legal advertisement, AND FURTHER, to authorize the board of supervisors to climinate the lected board of auditors if it appoints a CPA. NORTHAMPTON COUNTY OPPOSE Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution could create a problem Bot for townships that have working supervisors, whose compensation is set by the elected auditors. 10-18 RESOLVED, That PSATS urge the state Department of Transportation to add foundry waste sand to its list of approved road materials. COLUMBIA COUNTY SUPPORT 10-19 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to require the state Department of ‘Transportation to study the potential flooding impacts of planned highway construction projects on the affected communities and take action to eliminate these impacts. LYCOMING COUNTY SUPPORT 10-20 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to exempt driveways that have been in existence for 40 years or more from any requirement to obtain highway occupancy permits from the state Department of Transportation. SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY OPPOSE, Reasons for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution could create safety issues. 10-21 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to require the state Department of Transportation to issue highway occupancy permits within 30 days of receipt of the applications. SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY SUPPORT 10-22 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to require that the state budget for the previous fiscal year be automatically re-enacted without change if the General Assembly and the governor fail to approve a new state budget by June 30. CLARION COUNTY SUPPORT 10-23 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation that would make Pennsylvania more attractive to economic development and result in the creation of more jobs for Pennsylvanians. LYCOMING COUNTY NO ACTION Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that this resolution was too general. 10-24 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend the State Fireworks Law to prohibit the sale of consumer fireworks to any individual who is not licensed to discharge such fireworks, BUCKS COUNTY OPPOSE Reason for Action: The Resolutions Committee felt that the implementation of this resolution ‘would be too expensive 310-25 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend the Municipal Waste Planning, ‘ Recycling, and Waste Reduction Act (Act 10/ of 1988) to extend the tipping fee that is used to fund the municipal recycling grant program. BUCKS COUNTY SUPPORT 10-26 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Local Tax Enabling Act (Act 511 of 1965, as amended) to authorize the realty transfer tax to be levied when real property is transferred between corporate entities BUCKS COUNTY SUPPORT | The Resolutions Committee also reviewed a number of existing resolutions scheduled to expire and voted to reintroduce the following, Resolutions 10-27 through 10-43. 10-27 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend Section 203 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247 of 1968) to allow the governing body to appoint at least | one, but no more than three, residents of the municipality to serve as altemate members of the planning commission. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-28 RESOLVED, That PSATS oppose legislation that would mandate consolidation of local governments. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-29 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend the state Vehicle Code to allow municipalities to post weight limits by axle weight or gross weight. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE, SUPPORT 10-30 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Workers’ Compensation Reform Act (Act 44 of 1993) to authorize townships to include emergency management team volunteers under the township's workers’ compensation policy, RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-31 RESOLVED, That PSATS oppose any legislation that would allow the Pennsylvania State Police to impose a per capita or similar fee on nnunicipalities that do not provide police services. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-32 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Collective Bargaining Act (Act 111 of 1968) to require the board of arbitration to consider a municipality's financial status, budget and ability to raise taxes and the potential effect on its bond rating before making any arbitration award; AND FURTHER, That any award that would create a financial hardship fo the municipality be declared invalid, reduced, or modified by the court of jurisdiction on appeal. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-33 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to authorize fire companies to collect reimbursement from insurance companies for expenses incurred while responding to and | cleaning up automobile accidents and other emergeney incidents, | SOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT10-34 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to require applicants to the commonwealth or any of its agencies for a permit or license to conduct an activity affecting any real property in a municipality to give a minimum of 30 days’ notice to the host municipality of the proposed activity to allow the municipality to advise the issuing agency of the activity’s compliance with zoning and other applicable land use ordinances. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-35 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to provide incentives to encourage employers to release volunteer firefighters from their jobs to respond to fire and rescue emergencies, RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-36 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend Section'503(11)(iv) of the Municipalities Planning Code (Act 247 of 1968, as amended) to require municipalities to clearly identify that any fees in lieu of land for recreation were received for open space or recreation facilities, instead of requiring municipalities to identify the specific recreation facilities for which the fees were received. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-37 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Law (Act 442 of 1961) to authorize townships to choose whether or not they wish to be subject to the provisions of the law. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-38 RESOLVED, That PSATS urge the governor and the secretary of the state Department of Revenue to establish reciprocal agreements with neighboring states to exempt municipalities from paying respective state sales taxes, RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-39 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to eliminate the commonwealth’s practice of removing state-owned property from a municipality's tax rolls when the commonwealth is collecting rent for the use of the property. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTER SUPPORT 10-40 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to create a Deputy Secretary for Local Government Services within the state Department of Community and Economic Developinent. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-41 RESOLVED, That PSATS urge the General Assembly and the governor to adopt and support fair and flexible legislation authorizing municipalities to require compensation from developers when development will adversely affect existing off-site public facilities. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-42 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to require the state Department of General Services to allow municipalities to bid on and purchase motor vehicles sold by the state before they are offered for public auction, RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORT 10-43 RESOLVED, That PSATS oppose any removal and/or restriction of municipal cable franchising authority in Pennsylvania, RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE SUPPORTThe following resolutions were received after the Resolutions Committee met on March 3, 2010. The committee will act on these resolutions at its April 19, 2010 meeting. i 10-44 RESOLVED, That PSATS seck legislation to amend the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Law (Act 442 of 1961) to increase the threshold for compliance from $25,000 to $50,000, AND FURTHER, to establish a methodology to amend this threshold annually based on the cost-of-living index. CHESTER COUNTY 10-45 RESOLVED, That PSATS seek legislation to amend the Mobile Home Park Rights Act (Act 261 of 1976) to tequite a one-year notice by the park owner to residents of mobile home patks in the event of closure or change of use of the park that would require the removal of privately-owned mobile homes, CHESTER COUNTY 10-46 RESOLVED, That PSATS scek legislation that would require the Public Employee Retirement Commission to under‘ake a comprehensive study of the financial needs of municipal pension plans in Pennsylvania, MONTGOMERY COUNTY 10-47 RESOLVED, That PSATS establish a work group made up of township officials, engineers, and solicitors to oversee the Association's review and participation in the development and implementation of the state Department of Environmental Protection and U, Environmental Protection Agency’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) program, including any mandated stormwater ordinances, AND FURTHER, that the work group make recommendations on legislative amendments and regulatary issues and seek full state funding of the program. MONTGOMERY COUNTY