PRINTER'S NO. 1157
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1062
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY MARKOSEK, HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN, GIRAL, KUZMA,
KENYATTA, SANCHEZ, BURGOS, KAZEEM, MADDEN, MALAGARI, DONAHUE,
KINKEAD, CIRESI, DEASY, DOUGHERTY, STEELE AND SCHLOSSBERG,
MARCH 26, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
MARCH 26, 2025
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, in neighborhood blight reclamation and
3 revitalization, providing for State blight data collection
4 system; and establishing the Property Maintenance Code
5 Serious Violations Registry and the Property Maintenance Code
6 Serious Violations Registry Account.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Chapter 61 of Title 53 of the Pennsylvania
10 Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subchapter to read:
11 SUBCHAPTER C.1
12 STATE BLIGHT DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM
13 Sec.
14 6135.1. Definitions.
15 6135.2. Property Maintenance Code Serious Violations Registry.
16 6135.3. Property maintenance code serious violation reports.
17 6135.4. Dissemination of information by department.
18 6135.5. Changing status of property on registry.
 1 6135.6. Administrative requirements.
2 6135.7. Audit.
3 6135.8. Imposition of registry penalty.
4 6135.9. Property Maintenance Code Serious Violations Registry
5 Account.
6 6135.10. Duty of Attorney General.
7 § 6135.1. Definitions.
8 The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
9 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
10 context clearly indicates otherwise:
11 "Account." The Property Maintenance Code Serious Violations
12 Registry Account established under this subchapter.
13 "Department." The Department of Community and Economic
14 Development of the Commonwealth.
15 "Municipal claim." The term shall mean the same as defined
16 in the act of May 16, 1923 (P.L.207, No.153), referred to as the
17 Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law.
18 "Registry." The Property Maintenance Code Serious Violations
19 Registry established under section 6135.2 (relating to Property
20 Maintenance Code Serious Violations Registry).
21 § 6135.2. Property Maintenance Code Serious Violations
22 Registry.
23 (a) Establishment.--The Property Maintenance Code Serious
24 Violations Registry is established. The department shall
25 implement and administer the registry.
26 (b) Purpose.--The registry shall contain property
27 maintenance code serious violation reports filed by
28 municipalities under section 6135.3 (relating to property
29 maintenance code serious violation reports).
30 § 6135.3. Property maintenance code serious violation reports.
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 1 (a) Filing.--A municipality may file a property maintenance
2 code serious violation report for a person who owns real
3 property within the municipality with current serious property
4 maintenance code violations that remain unabated for at least
5 one year unless the municipality can demonstrate that it has,
6 for at least one year, cited serious violations on a property
7 prior to establishment of the registry.
8 (b) Forms provided.--Property maintenance code serious
9 violation reports shall be made on forms provided by the
10 department and submitted electronically.
11 (c) Information included.--Property maintenance code serious
12 violation reports shall include the following information:
13 (1) The name of the owner whose real property has been
14 cited for a serious property maintenance code violation. If
15 the property owner is a limited liability company or other
16 business entity that does not list the principals of the
17 limited liability company or other business entity, the
18 department or the department's third-party entity shall
19 attempt to find those principals or their agents and add
20 their names to the registry, in addition to the name of the
21 limited liability company or other business entity.
22 (2) A copy of the citation issued to the real property
23 owner.
24 (3) The physical address, tax parcel number and county
25 of the real property.
26 (4) The number of municipal claims or liens attached to
27 the real property by the filing municipality.
28 (d) Access.--The department shall make the registry
29 accessible electronically to all municipalities and the public.
30 (e) Database.--The database shall be searchable by property
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 1 owner and by property address.
2 § 6135.4. Dissemination of information by department.
3 (a) Availability of information.--Information contained in a
4 property maintenance code serious violation report shall be
5 accessible for inspection and duplication in accordance with the
6 act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-
7 Know Law.
8 (b) Requests by municipalities.--
9 (1) A municipality may request a copy of a property
10 maintenance code serious violation report on a pending
11 applicant for a municipal permit by submitting a property
12 maintenance code serious violation report request form to the
13 department or by requesting the form electronically.
14 (2) The department shall disseminate a property
15 maintenance code serious violation report relating to a
16 municipal permit applicant to the requesting municipality
17 within five business days of receipt of a property
18 maintenance code serious violation report request from the
19 municipality.
20 (3) The municipality shall notify an applicant in
21 writing of the reasons for a decision that denies the
22 applicant a municipal permit if the decision is based in
23 whole or in part on information contained in the registry.
24 (c) Requests by Commonwealth and Attorney General.--
25 (1) A Commonwealth agency or the Attorney General may
26 request a copy of a property maintenance code serious
27 violation report on a pending applicant for a permit,
28 licensing or certification by submitting a property
29 maintenance code serious violation report request form to the
30 department or by requesting the form electronically.
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 1 (2) The department shall disseminate a property
2 maintenance code serious violation report relating to a State
3 license or certification applicant to a requesting
4 Commonwealth agency within 30 days of receipt of a property
5 maintenance code serious violation report request from the
6 agency.
7 (3) The Commonwealth agency shall notify the applicant
8 in writing of the reasons for a decision that denies the
9 permit, licensing or certification requested by the applicant
10 if the decision is based in whole or in part on information
11 contained in the registry.
12 (d) Hearing requested by applicant.--
13 (1) The department shall hold a hearing regarding why
14 the property owner is listed on the registry, as applicable.
15 If the applicant can produce a certificate or letter of code
16 compliance from the municipality, the department shall update
17 the official record within 48 hours to reflect the new
18 information.
19 (2) The municipality or Commonwealth agency shall hold a
20 hearing regarding administrative appeals related to permit
21 denials.
22 (e) Record of dissemination.--The department shall maintain
23 a listing of Commonwealth agencies, municipalities and other
24 entities that have requested information on a particular real
25 property owner and the date on which the information was
26 disseminated. The Attorney General shall be exempt from this
27 listing in order to protect the confidentiality of
28 investigations. This listing shall be maintained separate from
29 the registry.
30 (f) Fee.--The department may not assess a fee for the
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 1 dissemination of property maintenance code serious violation
2 information.
3 § 6135.5. Changing status of property on registry.
4 A municipality that files a report with the department shall
5 subsequently supply the property owner with a certificate of
6 compliance once the real property is declared to be brought back
7 into code compliance. The property owner shall forward a copy of
8 the certificate of compliance to the department if the property
9 owner wishes to have the property's status changed to "cured" on
10 the registry. The department shall include the information as
11 part of the official record for the specific property and owner
12 of the real property.
13 § 6135.6. Administrative requirements.
14 (a) Procedures.--The department shall issue guidelines to
15 effectuate the purposes of this subchapter, which shall include
16 procedures to ensure the completeness and accuracy of
17 information in the registry. The department may contract with a
18 third-party entity to assist in carrying out the department's
19 duties under this subchapter.
20 (b) Forms.--The department shall develop property
21 maintenance code serious violation report forms and property
22 maintenance code serious violation report request forms, as well
23 as procedures to obtain the information electronically.
24 (c) Security requirements.--The department shall maintain
25 the confidentiality and security of the information contained in
26 the registry by providing that:
27 (1) Procedures have been instituted to reasonably
28 protect the registry from theft, fire, sabotage, flood, wind
29 or other natural or manmade disasters.
30 (2) All personnel authorized to access registry
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 1 information are selected, supervised and trained accordingly.
2 § 6135.7. Audit.
3 (a) Duty of Auditor General.--The Auditor General may
4 conduct annual performance audits of registry operations for the
5 first three years of the registry's existence and then every
6 five years thereafter.
7 (b) Access to records.--The department shall provide
8 auditors with access to all records, reports and listings
9 required to conduct an audit of property maintenance code
10 serious violations record information. Persons that have
11 supervision of or are authorized to receive registry information
12 shall cooperate with auditors and provide requested information.
13 (c) Contents of audit.--The audit shall report in writing
14 deficiencies and recommendations for correcting the
15 deficiencies. The department shall respond to the audit
16 recommendations within a reasonable period of time.
17 § 6135.8. Imposition of registry penalty.
18 A property owner that is in serious violation of a municipal
19 property maintenance code for more than one year that has been
20 placed on the property registry by a municipality may be subject
21 to a registry penalty in the amount of $1,000 for each serious
22 violation. The following apply to the penalty:
23 (1) The penalty shall be in addition to any other
24 applicable fees or charges lawfully collected by the
25 municipality and court.
26 (2) The municipality shall collect the penalty, deduct
27 administrative costs and transmit the remaining money to the
28 department on a quarterly basis.
29 (3) The penalty may take the form of a lien on the real
30 property, and the municipality may file the lien with the
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 1 county prothonotary or equivalent office.
2 (4) Money transmitted to the department under paragraph
3 (2) shall be deposited into the account.
4 § 6135.9. Property Maintenance Code Serious Violations Registry
5 Account.
6 (a) Establishment.--The Property Maintenance Code Serious
7 Violations Registry Account is established within the State
8 Treasury. The money in the account is appropriated on a
9 continuing basis to the department for the purposes provided in
10 this subchapter. The account shall consist of money transmitted
11 under section 6135.8(2) (relating to imposition of registry
12 penalty), transferred or appropriated from the General Fund to
13 the account or otherwise made available to the account.
14 (b) Distribution.--The department may distribute money in
15 excess of the money transferred or appropriated from the General
16 Fund to municipalities participating in the registry.
17 (c) Purposes.--In addition to the purpose under subsection
18 (b), money in the account may be used for the following
19 purposes:
20 (1) By the department to reimburse the department for
21 its administrative costs in carrying out its responsibilities
22 under this subchapter.
23 (2) By the unified judicial system to conduct training
24 of the judiciary in accordance with 42 Pa.C.S. § 1907
25 (relating to deteriorated real property education and
26 training programs for judges).
27 (3) By the Department of the Auditor General to
28 reimburse that department for the costs of conducting the
29 audits authorized by section 6135.7 (relating to audit).
30 § 6135.10. Duty of Attorney General.
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 1 (a) Out-of-State property owners.--For a person who lives or
2 has a principal place of residence outside this Commonwealth and
3 owns real estate property in this Commonwealth, upon written
4 request by a municipality, the Attorney General may assist the
5 municipality in pursuing compliance of the property owner in
6 order to bring the property up to municipal code if:
7 (1) A serious code violation has been cited.
8 (2) The property owner is charged under 53 Pa.C.S. §
9 6115 (relating to failure to comply with a code requirement).
10 (3) The property owner was properly notified of the
11 violations.
12 (b) Remedies.--For a violation under subsection (a), the
13 Attorney General may send a warning letter to the property owner
14 or file a court proceeding on behalf of the municipality.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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