Pennsylvania § 7702 - Publication.

§ 7702. Publication.

(a) Requirements.--Except as provided under this chapter or other statutory provision, the board of commissioners must publish a proposed ordinance once in one newspaper of general circulation at least seven days and not more than 60 days prior to passage. Publication of a proposed ordinance shall include all of the following:

(1) The full text of the proposed ordinance or the title and a brief summary of the proposed ordinance. THE brief summary shall include a description of each of the following, as applicable:

(i) An adoption, amendment or repeal of a tax, fee, charge or assessment.

(ii) An adoption, amendment or repeal of a regulation which provides for an offense or civil or criminal penalty.

(iii) A provision or covenant that does one or more of the following:

(A) Provides for the payment or disbursement of funds for goods, services or contractual obligations.

(B) Restricts funds for a specific purpose or obligation.

(C) Pledges funds for a specific purpose or obligation.

(2) A reference to the township office or other place where copies of the proposed ordinance may be examined.

(3) A reference to the publicly accessible Internet website, if any, where the full text of the proposed ordinance may be examined.

(a.1) Legal sufficiency.--If a published summary is subject to a legal challenge, a summary shall be legally sufficient if the summary containing the information required under subsection (a)(1) is made available for examination at the time of publication in conformity with subsection (a)(2) and (3).

(a.2) Land use ordinances.--Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), the requirements of this section shall not supersede the publication or notification requirements of a proposed ordinance under the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

(b) Summary.--If the full text is not included in the publication of the proposed ordinance, the following apply:

(1) The newspaper in which the proposed ordinance is published shall, upon request, be furnished a copy of the full text without charge.

(2) The following apply:

(i) In addition to copies of the full text of the proposed ordinance retained under subsection (a), an attested copy of the full text shall be filed within 30 days after passage in the county law library or other county office designated by the county commissioners.

(ii) Except as provided in subparagraph (iii)(D), the county commissioners may impose a fee not greater than the actual costs of storing the proposed ordinance.

(iii) Filing with the county may be completed by the submission of an electronic copy of the ordinance as follows:

(A) The county has discretion on whether to permit receipt by the office storing municipal ordinances.

(B) Upon request by the township, the county shall notify the township of the method by which electronic copies may be submitted.

(C) The county may store the ordinance electronically if the public is able to access the electronically stored township ordinances during regular business hours at the office or at a remote location.

(D) The county may not charge a fee for electronic storage.

(E) The township shall retain a printed copy of the email and ordinance as transmitted.

(3) The date of the filing with the county under paragraph (2) shall not affect the effective date of the ordinance and shall not be deemed a defect in the process of the passage of the ordinance.

(c) Notice of amendments.--If substantial amendments are made in the proposed ordinance, before voting upon passage, the board of commissioners must, within at least 10 days before passage, readvertise in one newspaper of general circulation the subject matter and a brief summary stating the provisions in reasonable detail and a summary of the amendments. A copy of the full text of the amended proposed ordinance shall be retained where township records are kept.

(d) Maps.--If a map, plan or drawing is passed as part of an ordinance, instead of publishing the map, plan or drawing as part of the proposed ordinance, the board of commissioners may refer in publishing the proposed ordinance to the place where the map, plan or drawing is on file and may be examined.