Pennsylvania Act 1937-84 — MUNICIPAL CLAIMS, ABATEMENT OF INTEREST

Act text

MUNICIPAL CLAIMS, ABATEMENT OF INTEREST
                  Act of Apr. 14, 1937, P.L. 306, No. 84              Cl. 53
                                  AN ACT

     Authorizing the abatement of certain interest charges, expenses
        and fees added to county, city, borough, town, township,
        school district or part district claims imposed or assessed
        for improvements, or for the abatement of nuisances;
        prohibiting the sale of real property for the nonpayment of
        such claims for a certain period; preserving the liens of
        such claims, and providing for the extension thereof.

        Section 1.  Be it enacted, &c., That all interest charges,
     expenses and fees added to any and all delinquent county, city,
     borough, town, township, school district or poor district
     claims, imposed or assessed on any parcel or parcels of real
     estate in the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-five and
     all previous years, arising out of or resulting from a service
     supplied, work done or improvement authorized and undertaken by
     any such political subdivision, or filed to recover for the
     grading, guttering, macadamizing, or otherwise improving the
     cartways of any public highway; for grading, curbing, recurbing,
     paving, repaving, constructing or repairing the footways
     thereof; for laying water pipes, gas pipes, culverts, sewers,
     branch sewers, or sewer connections therein; for assessments for
     benefits in the opening, widening or vacation thereof, or in the
     changing of water-courses, or the construction of sewers through
     private lands, or in highways of townships of the first class,
     or in the acquisition of sewers and drains constructed and owned
     by individuals or corporations, and of rights in and to use the
     same; for the removal of nuisances; or for water rates, lighting
     rates or sewer rates, may be abated by the political
     subdivision, in behalf of which the claim was filed, if said
     delinquent claims are paid as hereinafter provided.
        In order to receive the benefits of this act, twenty per
     centum of the delinquent municipal claims, imposed or assessed
     on any parcel or parcels of real estate in the year one thousand
     nine hundred and thirty-five and in all previous years, shall be
     paid, on or before the thirty-first of December, one thousand
     nine hundred and thirty-seven; twenty per centum, on or before
     the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and
     thirty-eight; twenty per centum, on or before the thirty-first
     day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine;
     twenty per centum, on or before the thirty-first day of
     December, one thousand nine hundred and forty; and twenty per
     centum, on or before the thirty-first day of December, one
     thousand nine hundred and forty-one.
        If and whenever any of the said installments are not paid
     when due and payable as herein provided, then, and in that
     event, there shall become due and payable for such year a sum
     equal to one-fifth of the total amount of the abated interest
     charges, expenses and fees in addition to the other payments
     required to be paid under this act during that year, which said
     additional sum shall be payable and must be paid at the time
     next succeeding installment payment becomes due under this act.
     If such additional sum is not so paid, then the total amount of
     the abated interest charges, expenses and fees, less the
     aggregate of any such additional sums theretofore paid, shall be
     revived and added to the unpaid claims with the same force and
     effect as if such abated interest charges, expenses and fees, or
     portion thereof, had never been abated, and the person liable
     for the payment thereof shall not thereafter be entitled to any
     further benefits or privileges under this act.
        Section 2.  Any person may anticipate the payment of such
     delinquent municipal claims for the year one thousand nine
     hundred and thirty-five and previous years and receive the
     benefits of this act by paying the entire amount or the balance
     due on such delinquent claims at any time, on or before the
     thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and
     thirty-seven.
        Section 3.  This act shall be construed to apply to all such
     claims whether or not liens for such claims have been filed in
     the office of the prothonotary of the county, or proceedings for
     the collection of such claims have been instituted in any court
     in said county, or where real property has been sold to a
     county, city, borough, town, township, school district or poor
     district at a judicial sale for the nonpayment of such claim,
     and the period of redemption has not expired; but this act shall
     not be construed to apply to cases where real property has been
     sold other than to a county, city, borough, town, township,
     school district or poor district at any such sale, and where the
     period of redemption has not expired, and the person liable for
     the payment of such claim shall be liable for the payment of all
     costs incurred in such proceedings, except the solicitor's fees.
        Section 4.  The benefits of this act shall extend to and
     accrue to any successful bidder or purchaser at sheriff's or
     other judicial sale, grantee, transferee, mortgagee or other
     party in interest in the parcel or parcels of real estate
     against which the above mentioned claims have been imposed or
     assessed and levied.
        Section 5.  Any taxpayer shall have the right to pay the
     delinquent claims, imposed or assessed and levied against any
     parcel or parcels of real estate, without being required to pay
     the delinquent claims imposed or assessed and levied against any
     other parcel or parcels of real estate in the same ward,
     district or other political subdivision.
        Upon application either in person or in writing by any person
     liable for the payment of any such delinquent claims, the
     authorities imposing or assessing and levying such claims, or
     the person or persons charged with the collection of such
     delinquent claims, or the person or persons in whose custody the
     records of such delinquent claims are kept, shall furnish to the
     person liable for the payment of such claims a statement of the
     delinquent claims owed by him to such political subdivision,
     showing the face amount, the interest charges, expenses and
     fees, and any costs or other charges in detail against such real
     property as shown by the records in his custody.
        Within thirty days after the acceptance of the provisions of
     this act by any political subdivision, and once again during the
     last week of October, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-
     seven, the corporate authorities of the political subdivision
     shall have published in their official newspaper or newspapers
     and in the legal newspapers, if any, a notice in display type
     relative to the provisions of this act, which shall read as
     follows:

                        Notice to Property Owners.

        Under the provisions of Act No.     , approved
                           , 1937, all persons owing any county,
     city, borough, town, township, school district or poor district
     delinquent municipal claims (such as street and sewer delinquent
     municipal claims), for the year one thousand nine hundred and
     thirty-five, and all previous years, may have certain of the
     interest charges, expenses and fees thereon abated by paying the
     amount or amounts due on such delinquent claims in five equal
     annual installments, if the first twenty per centum installment
     is paid, on or before the thirty-first day of December, one
     thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, or the entire amount, or
     the balance due of such delinquent claims, may be paid at face
     at any time prior to December thirty-first, one thousand nine
     hundred and thirty-seven. Further information may be obtained
     from the undersigned.
        Section 6.  In order to enable the taxpayer to receive the
     full benefits of this act, no real property shall be sold for
     nonpayment of such municipal claims before December thirty-
     first, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, and any such
     sale shall be adjourned or readjourned as often as may be
     necessary for this purpose. If any sale is adjourned or
     readjourned after advertisement, no additional advertisement or
     notice shall be necessary for the adjourned or readjourned sale.
     No such adjournment or readjournment, failure to advertise, or
     hold any such sale, shall invalidate the lien of any municipal
     claim due and unpaid, but the lien of all such claims shall be
     fully preserved during the entire installment period, herein
     provided for, if the persons liable for the payment of such
     claims avail themselves of the privileges or benefits of this
     act: Provided, however, That in every case where a person avails
     himself of the privileges or benefits of this act, the period,
     during which payment of the said delinquent claim is postponed
     or continued under this act, shall not be included in computing
     and determining whether or not any right of the authority which
     imposed or assessed such claim has been barred or lost by reason
     of the provisions of any statute or statutes now existing, or
     hereafter enacted, limiting the right of the said authority to
     file, preserve or maintain the lien of the said claim.
        Section 7.  The provisions of this act shall not apply to or
     in any manner affect any assessments which are the sole basis of
     improvement bonds issued by any political subdivision and which
     are the security for the payment thereof, or to any assessments
     which have heretofore been assigned by any political subdivision
     to any contractor in payment of the amount due him under terms
     of the contract for the improvement for which the assessment was
     levied.
        Section 8.  The provisions of this act are severable, and if
     any of the provisions hereof are held to be unconstitutional,
     the decision shall not be construed to impair any other
     provision of this act. It is hereby declared as the legislative
     intent that this act would have been adopted had such
     unconstitutional provision not been included herein.
        Section 9.  All acts and parts of acts, general, local and
     special, inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby
     suspended during the time this act shall be in effect.
        Section 10.  This act shall become effective immediately upon
     final enactment.