Pennsylvania Act 1947-549 — VETERANS' HOUSING AUTHORITY ACT

Act text

AN ACT

Creating for a limited time public bodies corporate and politic to be known as Veterans' Housing Authorities; to make available for veterans of World War II temporary emergency housing accommodations; empowering them to acquire by purchase, gift or eminent domain certain dwellings and other structures; providing for their organization and the exercise of their powers and duties, including the borrowing of money, issuing bonds and other obligations, the leasing and selling of property acquired; and conferring certain powers and duties on the governing bodies of cities and counties and the State Board of Housing.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1. Short Title.

Section 2. Findings and Declaration of Policy.

Section 3. Definitions.

Section 4. Formation of Authorities.

Section 5. Appointment and Qualifications of Members of

Authority.

Section 6. Tenure and Compensation of Members of Authority.

Section 7. Organization of Authority.

Section 8. Interest of Members or Employes.

Section 9. Powers of an Authority.

Section 10. Local Ordinances Not Applicable.

Section 11. Real Estate Tax; Exemption.

Section 12. Operation and Maintenance of Emergency Dwellings.

Section 13. Eminent Domain.

Section 14. Bonds of an Authority.

Section 15. Form and Sale of Bonds.

Section 16. Provisions of Bonds, Trust Indentures and

Mortgages.

Section 17. Remedies of an Obligee of Authority.

Section 18. Additional Remedies Conferrable by Authority.

Section 19. Aid from Federal Government.

Section 20. Records and Reports.

Section 21. Duration of Authority.

Section 22. Effective Date.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Short Title.--This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Veterans' Housing Authority Act."

Section 2. Findings and Declaration of Policy.--(a) It is hereby declared that a serious public emergency exists affecting and threatening the health, safety, welfare and comfort of the people of the Commonwealth by reason of the acute shortage of dwelling accommodations for returning veterans of World War II and their families.

(b) The existence of such emergency requires that immediate measures be taken to provide temporary emergency housing accommodations for such veterans and their families, even though it is recognized that the housing facilities acquired for such purposes will not meet the requirements of permanent housing.

Section 3. Definitions.--The following words and terms, as used in this act, shall have the meaning herein ascribed to them, unless the context clearly requires another meaning:

(a) "Authority," any Veterans' Housing Authority created under the provisions of this act.

(b) "Bonds," any bonds, certificates, notes, debentures or other obligations of an authority issued pursuant to this act.

(c) "City," any city of the first, second, second class A or third class.

(d) "County," any county other than a county of the first class.

(e) "Governing body," in the case of a city, the city council or other legislative body thereof. In the case of a county, the board of county commissioners or other legislative body thereof.

Section 4. Formation of Authorities.--

(a) There are hereby created separate and distinct bodies corporate and politic, one for each city and one for each county of the Commonwealth, as herein defined. Each such body shall be known as the Veterans' Housing Authority of the city or the county, as the case may be, but shall in no way be deemed to be an instrumentality of such city or county, or engaged in the performance of a municipal function. Each such Authority shall transact no business, or otherwise become operative, until and unless a finding is made as hereinafter provided in this section.

(b) At any time after passage of this act, the governing body of any city or county may find and declare, by proper ordinance or resolution, that there is need for an Authority to function within the territorial limits of said city or county, as the case may be.

(c) The governing body shall cause a certified copy of such ordinance or resolution to be filed with the Department of State and duplicates thereof with the State Board of Housing and the State Planning Board. Upon receipt of the said certificate, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall issue a certificate of incorporation.

(d) In any suit, action or proceeding, involving or relating to the validity or enforcement of any contract or act of an Authority, a copy of the certificate of incorporation, duly certified by the Department of State, shall be admissible in evidence and shall be conclusive proof of the legal establishment of the Authority.

Section 5. Appointment and Qualifications of Members of Authority.--Upon certification of a resolution, declaring the need for an Authority to operate in a city or county, the mayor or board of county commissioners thereof, respectively, shall appoint as members of the Authority five citizens who shall be residents of the city or county in which the Authority is to operate.

Section 6. Tenure and Compensation of Members of Authority.--The members, who are appointed, shall serve for the duration of the existence of the Authority, as hereinafter provided. Vacancies shall be promptly filled by the appointing power. A member shall receive no compensation for his services, but shall be entitled to the necessary expenses, including traveling expenses, incurred in the discharge of his duties.

Section 7. Organization of Authority.--The members of an Authority shall select from among themselves a chairman, a vice-chairman and such other officers as the Authority may determine. An Authority may employ a secretary, an executive director, its own counsel and legal staff and such technical experts and such other agents and employes, permanent or temporary, as it may require, and may determine the qualifications and fix the compensation of such persons. Three members of an Authority shall constitute a quorum for its meetings. Members of an Authority shall not be liable personally on the bonds or other obligations of the Authority, and the rights of creditors shall be solely against such Authority. An Authority may delegate to one or more of its agents or employes such of its powers as it shall deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this act, subject always to the supervision and control of the Authority.

Section 8. Interest of Members or Employes.--No member or employe of an Authority shall acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any dwelling or other housing accommodation or in any real estate which he may have reason to believe may be purchased or leased by an Authority, nor shall he have any interest, direct or indirect, in any contract or proposed contract for materials or services to be furnished or used by an Authority. The acquisition of any such interest in any dwelling or housing project or in buildings to be converted into housing projects, or in any such property or contract shall constitute misconduct in office. If any member or employe of an Authority shall already own or control any interest, direct or indirect, in any property later included or planned to be included in any veterans temporary housing project under the jurisdiction of the Authority, or has any such interest in any contract for material or services to be furnished or used in connection with any such project, he shall disclose the same, in writing, to the Authority and to the State Board of Housing and the local governing body, and such disclosure shall be entered, in writing upon the minute books of the Authority. Failure to make such disclosure shall constitute misconduct in office.

Section 9. Powers of an Authority.--An Authority shall constitute a public body corporate and politic, exercising public powers of the Commonwealth as an agency thereof, which powers shall include all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this act, including but not being limited to, the following powers in addition to those herein otherwise granted:

(a) To cooperate with the Federal or State government, or any agency or authority created by law, the purpose of which is to fulfill the purposes set out in this act.

(b) To act as agent of the State or Federal government, or any of its instrumentalities or agencies, for the purposes set out in this act.

(c) To acquire by purchase, gift or eminent domain, by lease or license, subject to any reasonable terms or conditions required by the owner, real property, including but not limited to, the types herein set forth.

(1) Military and naval installations, which the Federal government is willing to make available to such Authority for emergency housing.

(2) Any unused or untenantable homes or housing accommodations which can be made suitable for temporary emergency housing.

(3) Any structure which by conversion may furnish temporary emergency housing.

(4) Any buildings or structures suitable for emergency housing whether publicly or privately owned.

(d) To contract for the performance of all or any part of such work of construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, improvement, conversion, with such persons as are capable of performing such work: Provided, That in the award of any such contract, the Authority shall comply with all requirements as to advertising, competitive bids and awards, applicable to contracts of the county or city in and for which the Authority was created.

(e) To contract with public utilities or municipalities for the various utility and public services.

(f) To purchase and provide, if desirable, such furniture and furnishings as may be necessary for the health and welfare of the veterans and their families to occupy such emergency housing facilities.

(g) To insure, or provide for, the insurance of any property or operations of the Authority against any risks or hazards.

(h) To borrow from private lenders or from the State or Federal governments, such funds as may be available and necessary for the operation and work of the Authority.

(i) To sell or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property acquired under the provisions of this act.

(j) To sue and to be sued.

(k) To make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the Authority.

(l) To make and, from time to time, amend and repeal by laws, rules and regulations, relating to the purposes of the Authority.

(m) To conduct examinations and hearings and to authorize a member to administer oaths, take affidavits and issue subpoenas.

(n) To enter upon any building or property in order to make surveys or inspections.

(o) To do all and any acts necessary to make available such emergency housing facilities in the shortest possible time.

Section 10. Local Ordinances Not Applicable.--(a) Notwithstanding any provision of any law to the contrary, the real property acquired, operated and maintained by any Authority under the provisions of this act, shall not be subject to any local ordinances or State laws relating to minimum requirements of construction and repair under building codes, plumbing and inspection laws, and any other laws relating to the erection and maintenance of buildings for dwelling purposes.

(b) The State Board of Housing shall, as soon as practical after the passing of this act, establish, by regulation, minimum safety and health requirements for real property acquired by authorities under the provisions of this act. In establishing such minimum requirements, the State Board of Housing shall take into consideration the temporary and emergency nature of the real property for which such regulations are to be established. All real property purchased, or otherwise acquired by an Authority, shall conform to such minimum requirements.

Section 11. Real Estate Tax; Exemption.--Any real property acquired, maintained and operated by an Authority under the provisions of this act, shall not be subject to taxation by any political subdivision or local taxing authority.

Section 12. Operation and Maintenance of Emergency Dwellings.--Any real property, acquired by an Authority under the provisions of this act, shall be rented only to veterans of World War II and their families, at such a rent and upon such terms and conditions as such Authority, by regulation, shall prescribe. In rendering any such real property, it shall be unlawful to make any discrimination whatsoever on account of race, creed or color. The Authority shall operate and maintain such temporary emergency housing facilities for so long a period as the housing conditions in the area in which such Authority operates shall require: Provided, however, That no Authority shall continue for a longer period than hereinafter provided.

Section 13. Eminent Domain.--Title to any property acquired by an Authority through eminent domain shall be an absolute or fee simple title, unless a lesser title shall be designated in the eminent domain proceedings. The Authority may exercise the right of eminent domain in the manner provided by law for the exercise of such right by cities or counties, as the case may be, of the same class as the city or county in which such Authority is organized to operate. If any of the real property, which is to be acquired, has prior to such acquisition been devoted to another public use, it may nevertheless be acquired by condemnation: Provided, That no real property belonging to a city, county or to the Commonwealth may be acquired without its consent. No real property belonging to a public utility corporation may be acquired without the approval of the Public Utility Commission.

Section 14. Bonds of an Authority.--An Authority shall have power to issue bonds for any of its corporate purposes, the principal and interest of which are payable from its revenues generally. Any of such bonds may be secured by a pledge of any revenues, including grants or contributions from the Federal or State government, or any agency and instrumentality thereof, or by a mortgage of any property of the Authority.

The bonds issued by an Authority are hereby declared to have all the qualities of negotiable instruments under the law merchant and the negotiable instruments law of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The bonds of an Authority, created under the provisions of this act, and the income therefrom, shall at all times be free from taxation for State or local purposes under any law of this Commonwealth.

Neither the members of an Authority, nor any person executing the bonds, shall be liable personally on any such bonds by reason of the issuance thereof. Such bonds, or other obligations of an Authority, shall not be a debt of any municipality or of the Commonwealth, and shall so state on their face, nor shall any municipality or the Commonwealth, nor any revenues or any property of any municipality or of the Commonwealth, be liable therefor.

Section 15. Form and Sale of Bonds.--The bonds of an Authority shall be authorized by its resolution, shall be issued in one or more series, and shall bear such date, mature at such time, and bear interest at such rate, not exceeding six per centum (6%) per annum, payable semi-annually, be in such denominations, be in such form, either coupon or registered, be executed in such manner, be payable in such medium of payment, at such place, and be subject to such terms of redemption, and carry such registration privileges as may be provided in such resolution, or in any trust, indenture or mortgage properly made in pursuance thereof.

Before any bonds may be sold in pursuance of any resolution of any Authority, the chairman or secretary of such Authority shall certify to the Department of Internal Affairs, a complete and accurate copy of the proceedings had for the issuance of the bonds, which are to be sold, in the manner now or hereafter provided for the certification to said Department of the proceedings relating to the issuance of bonds of the municipalities of this Commonwealth. Upon receiving such certificate of approval of the proceedings from the Department of Internal Affairs, the Authority may proceed with the sale of the bonds in compliance with the provisions of section two hundred twelve of the act, approved the twenty-fifth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and forty-one (Pamphlet Laws, one hundred fifty-nine), as amended.

The bonds of an Authority may be sold at not less than par and accrued interest. In case any of the officers of an Authority whose signatures appear on any bonds or coupons shall cease to be officers before the delivery of such bonds, their signatures shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes, the same as if such officers had remained in office until such delivery.

The Authority shall have the power, out of any funds available therefor, to purchase any bonds issued by it at a price not more than the par value thereof plus accrued interest. All bonds so purchased shall be cancelled. This paragraph shall not apply to the redemption of bonds.

Any bond, reciting in substance that it has been issued by an Authority to accomplish the public purposes of this act, shall be conclusively deemed in any suit, action or proceeding, involving the validity or enforceability of such bond or security therefor, to have been issued for such purpose.

Section 16. Provisions of Bonds, Trust Indentures and Mortgages.--In connection with the issuance of bonds or the incurring of obligations under leases, and in order to secure the payment of such bonds or obligations, an Authority, in addition to its other powers, shall have power:

(a) To pledge all or any part of its gross or net revenues to which its right then exists or may thereafter come into existence.

(b) To mortgage all or any part of its real or personal property then owned or thereafter acquired.

(c) To covenant, against pledging, all or any part of its revenues, or against mortgaging, all or any part of its real or personal property to which its right or title exists, or may thereafter come into existence, or against permitting or suffering any lien on such revenues or property to covenant with respect to limitations on its right to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any of its real property, and to covenant as to what other or additional debts or obligations may be incurred by it.

(d) To covenant as to the bonds to be issued and as to the issuance of such bonds, in escrow or otherwise, and as to the use and disposition of the proceeds thereof, to provide for the replacement of lost, destroyed or mutilated bonds, to covenant against extending the time for the payment of its bonds, or interest thereon, and to redeem the bonds and to covenant for their redemption and to provide the terms and conditions thereof.

(e) To covenant, subject to the limitations contained in this act as to the amount of revenues to be raised each year, or other period of time, as well as to the use and disposition to be made thereof, to create or to authorize the creation of special funds for debt, service or other purposes and to covenant as to the use and disposition of the moneys held in such funds.

(f) To prescribe the procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with bondholders may be amended or abrogated, the amount of bonds, the holders of which must consent thereto and the manner in which such consent may be given.

(g) To covenant as to the use of any or all of its real or personal property, to warrant its title and to covenant as to the maintenance of its real and personal property, the replacement thereof, the insurance to be carried thereon, and the use and disposition of insurance moneys.

(h) To covenant as to the rights, liabilities, powers and duties arising upon the breach by it of any covenant, condition or obligation, and to covenant and prescribe, in the event of default, as to terms and conditions upon which any or all of its bonds or obligations shall become or may be declared due before maturity, and as to the terms and conditions upon which such declaration and its consequences may be waived.

(i) To vest in a trustee, or the holders of bonds, or any proportion of them, the right to enforce the payment of the bonds or any covenants, securing or relating to the bonds; to vest in a trustee the right, in the event of a default by the Authority, to take possession and use, operate and manage any real property and to collect the rents and revenues arising therefrom, and to dispose of such moneys in accordance with the agreement of the Authority with said trustee; to provide for the powers and duties of a trustee and to limit liabilities thereof; and to provide the terms and conditions upon which the trustee, or the holders of bonds, or any proportion of them, may enforce any covenant or rights securing or relating to the bonds.

(j) To exercise all or any part or combination of the powers, herein granted to make covenants, other than and in addition to the covenants herein expressly authorized; to make such covenants and to do any and all such acts and things as may be necessary or convenient, or desirable, in order to secure its bonds, or in the absolute discretion of the Authority as will tend to accomplish the purposes of this act, by making the bonds more marketable notwithstanding that such covenants, acts or things may not be enumerated herein.

Section 17. Remedies of an Obligee of Authority.--An obligee of an Authority shall have the right, in addition to all other rights which may be conferred on such obligee, subject only to any contractual restrictions binding upon such obligee:

(a) By mandamus, suit, action or proceeding at law or in equity to compel the Authority and the members, officers, agents or employes thereof to perform each and every term, provision and covenant contained in any contract of the Authority with or for the benefit of such obligee, and to require the carrying out of any or all such covenants and agreements of the Authority and the fulfillment of all duties imposed upon the Authority by this act.

(b) By proceeding in equity to obtain an injunction against any acts or things which may be unlawful, or the violation of any of the rights of such obligee of the Authority.

Section 18. Additional Remedies Conferrable by Authority.--An Authority shall have power by its resolution, trust indenture, mortgage, lease or other contract to confer upon any obligees, holding or representing a specified percentage in bonds, or holding a lease, the right, in addition to all rights, that may otherwise be conferred, upon the happening of an event of default, as defined in such resolution or instrument, by suit, action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction:

(a) To obtain the appointment of a receiver of any real property of the Authority and of the rents and profits therefrom. If such receiver be appointed, he may enter and take possession of such real property, operate the same and collect and receive all revenues or other income thereafter arising therefrom and shall keep such moneys in a separate account and apply the same in accordance with the obligations of the Authority, as the court shall direct.

(b) To require the Authority and the members thereof to account as if it and they were the trustees of an express trust.

Section 19. Aid from Federal Government.--In addition to the powers conferred upon an Authority by other provisions of this act, an Authority is empowered to borrow money or accept grants or other financial assistance from the Federal Government for or in aid of any of its operations. It is the purpose and intent of this act to authorize every Authority to do any and all things necessary or desirable to secure the financial aid or cooperation of the Federal Government in any of its operations.

Section 20. Records and Reports.--

(a) The books and records of an Authority shall at all times be open and subject to inspection by the State Board of Housing.

(b) An Authority may file with the State Planning Board and the State Board of Housing such information and reports as it may, from time to time, deem desirable and shall file with them,

(1) A copy of all by-laws and rules and regulations and amendments thereto adopted by it from time to time.

(2) At least once each year, a report of its activities for the preceding year and such other reports as said boards may require. Copies of such reports shall be filed with the mayor and governing body of the city or with the county board of commissioners, as the case may be.

Section 21. Duration of Authority.--Any Authority, created under the provisions of this act, shall carry on its corporate functions until such time as the Governor, by proclamation, declares the housing emergency to be at an end. Thereafter no Authority shall have power to acquire any additional real property and shall proceed to dispose of all real and personal property owned by it.

Section 22. The provisions of this act shall become effective immediately upon final enactment.