Pennsylvania Act 1941-267 — VALIDATING PROCEEDINGS AND ELECTIONS

Act text

VALIDATING PROCEEDINGS AND ELECTIONS
                  Act of Aug. 1, 1941, P.L. 650, No. 267              Cl. 53
                                  AN ACT

     Validating certain proceedings and elections of counties,
        cities, boroughs, school districts, or other municipalities
        or incorporated districts had and held pursuant to the
        provisions of an act, approved the twentieth day of April,
        one thousand eight hundred seventy-four (Pamphlet Laws,
        sixty-five), entitled, "An act to regulate the manner of
        increasing the indebtedness of municipalities, to provide for
        the redemption of the same, and to impose penalties for the
        illegal increase thereof", and the amendments and supplements
        thereto, and validating bonds issued or authorized to be
        issued in pursuance of such proceedings and elections.

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

        Section 1.  All proceedings and elections heretofore had and
     held by any county, city, borough, township, school district or
     other municipality or incorporated district within this
     Commonwealth to increase its indebtedness under the method of
     procedure specified by the provisions of the act, approved the
     twentieth day of April, one thousand eight hundred seventy-four
     (Pamphlet Laws, sixty-five), entitled, "An act to regulate the
     manner of increasing the indebtedness of municipalities, to
     provide for the redemption of the same, and to impose penalties
     for the illegal increase thereof", and the acts amendatory
     thereof and supplementary thereto, where the majority of votes
     cast at such election was in favor of the increase of
     indebtedness and where the purpose of the proposed increase of
     indebtedness is to provide for the construction of sanitary and
     surface sewers and the improvement of the public streets and
     alleys by the aid and assistance of labor and material furnished
     in whole or in part by the State or Federal governments and for
     the prosecution, carrying on and financing any projects
     receiving State or Federal approval by whatever name the local
     agency may be styled or denominated by, and the same are hereby
     ratified, confirmed and made valid, notwithstanding the
     authorities of such county, city, borough, township, school
     district or other municipality or incorporated district either
     did not, or by separate and independent action did not, prior to
     the ordinance or vote in pursuance of which notice of election
     was given to the electors, signify their desire for such
     increase of indebtedness, or did not, in the words of the act
     and amendments and supplements aforesaid authorizing such
     increase, signify their desire for such increase of
     indebtedness, and notwithstanding the authorities of such
     county, city, borough, township, school district or other
     municipality or incorporated district signified their desire for
     such increase of indebtedness by a resolution instead of by an
     ordinance as required by the act, its amendments and
     supplements, and notwithstanding such resolution or ordinance
     was not advertised as is required by law for the advertisement
     of ordinances, and notwithstanding that the notice of such
     election stated the amount of the last assessed valuation of the
     taxable property in such county, city, borough, township, school
     district or other municipality or incorporated district to have
     been the assessed valuation of another county, city, borough,
     township, school district or other municipality or incorporated
     district, which is coextensive therewith, the assessed valuation
     in both such districts having been based upon the same or
     substantially the same taxable property and being the same or
     substantially the same in amount in both of such coextensive
     districts, and notwithstanding failure to post such election
     notice as required by law, and notwithstanding that a primary
     election had intervened between the date of the adoption by the
     proper authorities of the ordinance or resolution expressing the
     desire to increase the indebtedness and the date of the special
     election at which such increase of indebtedness was approved by
     the electors, and notwithstanding the ordinance expressing such
     desire of the proper authorities of said county, city, borough,
     township, school district or other municipality or incorporated
     district for the increase of indebtedness may have been
     advertised concurrently with the said notice of election though
     more than thirty days intervened between the date of the first
     advertisement and publication of said notice of election and the
     date of said election, and notwithstanding the ballots used at
     said election were not certified by the county commissioners or
     did not bear their facsimile signatures or did not contain a
     brief statement of the purpose of the proposed increase of
     indebtedness or were not printed on the official ballot after
     the list of candidates, but were printed on separate ballots at
     a general election or were printed on a party ballot at a
     primary election, and notwithstanding that the electors at any
     such election attached stickers to the ballots cast at said
     election on which stickers were written or printed preferences
     for sites of buildings or other matters, and notwithstanding
     full, complete and proper return of the votes was not made to
     the proper court or counted by the court, and notwithstanding
     that a record showing the results was not made and certified by
     the clerk of said court to the proper authorities of such
     district or municipality, and notwithstanding any defect,
     informality or vagueness of expression in the language of the
     ordinance or resolution fixing the time for holding such
     election, and notwithstanding any defect or informality in the
     manner of holding, mode of conducting or giving notice of such
     election or in form of the ballot, and notwithstanding any
     mistake in stating the amount or percentage of existing debt or
     the percentage of the proposed increase or the amount of the
     last preceding assessed valuation, and notwithstanding any
     patent error of orthography or of numerical statement on any or
     all of the ballots, and notwithstanding any discrepancy between
     the amount of the proposed increase of indebtedness as contained
     in the published and posted advertisements and in the printed
     ballots.
        All of the bonds, securities and obligations issued or to be
     issued in pursuance of every such election are hereby made valid
     and binding obligations of every such county, city, borough,
     township, school district or other municipality or incorporated
     district: Provided, That all the other requirements of law
     concerning such procedure, election and issue of bonds have been
     complied with: And provided further, That the provisions of this
     act shall not apply in any instance where the validity of such
     election or any issue of bonds or other security based thereon
     has been made the subject of litigation in any court of the
     Commonwealth prior to the approval of this act, nor to any
     litigation in any court of this Commonwealth instituted prior to
     the passage of this act and still pending and undetermined.
        Section 2.  This act shall become effective immediately upon
     final enactment.