Municipal Law

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In a case that may have implications for any government entity that has an application process related to permit and license issuance, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently issued a decision in P.L.C.B. v. Beh, No. 91 C.D. 2018, No. 153 C.D. 2018 (Pa. Commw. Ct. July 17, 2019), concerning whether residential and financial information contained in liquor license applications must be disclosed to the public.
Continue Reading Commonwealth Court, Citing Right to Privacy, Shields Residency Information from Disclosure Under Right to Know Law

On May 7, 2019, the City of Baltimore discovered that its integral systems were the subject of a ransomware attack, breaching the City’s phone systems, emails, documents and critical operational databases, affecting roughly 10,000 City computers. The City notified the F.B.I. and took offline as many other systems as possible to prevent the spread of the cyberattack, but not before the malicious software locked and encrypted many of the City’s systems. The hackers responsible for the attack demanded thirteen bitcoins (approximately $100,000), as ransom, to release the City’s inaccessible databases and operational tools. In a move intended to disincentive future attacks, Baltimore rejected hackers’ demands and did not pay the ransom.
Continue Reading Ransomware Attacks Targeting Cities and Municipalities

A group of elected officials in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate have reintroduced a series of bills making significant changes to the process by which municipalities in Pennsylvania incur debt. The introduction of these bills has become a biennial occurrence; since the 2013-2014 legislative session, similar bills have been introduced, calling for such changes. None of the prior proposals have been enacted into law.

The bills that have been introduced in the 2019-2020 legislative session primarily consist of two packages – one in the House and one in the Senate. The package of reform proposals in the House can be found at House Bills 882-884. The package of reform proposals in the Senate can be found at Senate Bills 204-210. One proposal was introduced as House Bill 320, and is a standalone measure addressing interest rate swaps. We’ve included in this post links to each bill, so that you can monitor the status of the bills.
Continue Reading Slate of Municipal Debt Reform Proposals Reintroduced in PA House, Senate

On February 19, 2019, a bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate proposing to amend the Pennsylvania Breach of Personal Information Notification Act (the “Act”) to add new breach notification requirements for state agencies and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth.
Continue Reading Senate Bill Proposes New Data Breach Notification Requirements for Pennsylvania State Agencies, Municipalities, and School Districts

Anticipating a vacancy in your manager position? Does your current or new manager need some training on a complex issue?  Are you facing a difficult and time-consuming project that your current staff does not have capacity to complete?  We can help.

We work with a number of municipalities, and one constant refrain we hear from supervisors, staff and solicitors is that there is a shortage of qualified managers out there.  Several factors contribute to this situation.  Let’s face facts, there are a number of baby boomers considering retirement.  In many cases, there is no one on the “bench” in the township ready to step up to replace these folks.  There are few opportunities to obtain the training necessary to become a well-rounded effective manager. Many municipal government staffs are just too small.
Continue Reading Need Help with Your Municipal Manager Position?

On February 12, 2019, Representative Tina Davis introduced a bill proposing to establish a new regulatory commission with oversight over municipal water and wastewater authorities.   H.B. 494 would establish a Municipal Water and Wastewater Authority Oversight Commission (“Authority Commission”).  Representative Davis previously sponsored H.B. 798, which would have amended the Public Utility Code to subject municipal water and wastewater authorities to regulation by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (“PUC”).  Introduced in 2017, H.B. 798 failed to move out of the Consumer Affairs Committee.
Continue Reading New House Proposal Would Subject Municipal Water, Wastewater Authorities to Additional Oversight

With the Pennsylvania General Assembly officially starting its new legislative session this January, now is a good time to take stock of the legislative proposals affecting municipalities that were approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Governor Wolf during the 2017-2018 session. In the last two years close to 250 bills were signed into law by the Governor; this article will examine 13 of them.
Continue Reading A Look Back at the 2017-2018 Legislative Session

Republican Representative Garth Everett, in a cosponsorship memorandum posted on February 1st, announced plans to reintroduce a package of bills that would expand the ability of municipalities throughout Pennsylvania to assess stormwater management fees. These proposals, contained in former House Bills 913 through 916 (2017-2018 session), died in the Senate last term after being passed with bipartisan support by the House.
Continue Reading Stormwater Fee Proposals Reintroduced in Pennsylvania General Assembly

As the executive and legislative branches of County government, the County Commissioners are responsible for most of the work of the County. However, County government is also served by a number of independently elected row officers, who are also vested with significant authority. That includes the authority to hire, fire and supervise employees within the office, even over the objections and direction of the County Commissioners.
Continue Reading County Row Officers, 1620 Rights, and Arbitrating Arbitrability