Pennsylvania § 8861 - Submission of permit and substantial improvement information to the county assessment office and civil penalty.

§ 8861. Submission of permit and substantial improvement information to the county assessment office and civil penalty.

(a) Permit.--Every municipality, third-party agency or the Department of Labor and Industry responsible for the issuance of building permits or demolition permits shall forward a copy of each permit to the county assessment office on or before the first day of every month. In addition to any charge otherwise permitted by law, a municipality, a third-party agency or the Department of Labor and Industry may charge an additional fee of $10 to each person to whom a permit is issued for administrative costs incurred in compliance with this section. The assessment office may provide for the electronic submission of a permit through electronic mail or any other means of electronic transmission or uploading of the permit in its existing form. The provision of permits or permit information to the assessment office as required by this section shall not be subject to the procedures of the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law. No agency, public official or public employee shall be liable for civil or criminal damages or penalties for complying with this section.

(a.1) Noncompliance.--

(1) If the county assessment office has reason to believe that there is noncompliance with subsection (a), the assessment office shall provide written notice to the municipality and, if applicable, a third-party agency, or to the Department of Labor and Industry in the case of noncompliance by the Department of Labor and Industry. Upon receipt of the notice, the municipality, third-party agency or Department of Labor and Industry shall investigate and consult with the assessment office and take any steps the municipality, third-party agency or Department of Labor and Industry deems necessary to remediate the noncompliance.

(2) If, after consultation, noncompliance with subsection (a) continues, the assessment office may, in the case of continuing noncompliance after notice by a municipality or third-party agency, institute an action in mandamus before the court of common pleas to compel compliance with subsection (a). Should the court determine that the noncompliance is intentional, the court shall award any costs, disbursements, reasonable attorney fees and witness fees relating to the action to the assessment office.

(b) Substantial improvement.--If a person makes improvements to any real property, other than painting of or normal regular repairs to a building, aggregating more than $4,000 in value and a building permit is not required for the improvements, the property owner shall furnish the following information to the board:

(1) the name and address of the person owning the property;

(2) a description of the improvements made or to be made to the property; and

(3) the dollar value of the improvements.

(b.1) County improvement certification form.--The county commissioners may, by ordinance, require that all persons making substantial improvements to property as set forth in subsection (b) submit to the county assessment office a county improvement certification form setting forth the information in subsection (b) prior to beginning any substantial improvement, regardless of whether a building permit is required. The county may provide for the electronic submission of the form and a fee no greater than $5. The county may cooperate with a municipality, third-party agency or the Department of Labor and Industry in the distribution of forms.

(c) Civil penalty.--

(1) The board may assess a civil penalty of not more than $100 upon a person for intentionally failing to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) or an ordinance enacted in accordance with subsection (b.1) or intentionally falsifying the information required.

(2) If a civil penalty is assessed against a person under paragraph (1), the board must notify the person by certified mail of the nature of the violation and the amount of the civil penalty and that the person may notify the board in writing within 10 calendar days that the person wishes to contest the civil penalty. If, within 10 calendar days from the receipt of that notification, the person does not notify the county board of assessment of the person's intent to contest the assessed penalty, the civil penalty shall become final.

(3) If timely notification of the intent to contest the civil penalty is given, the person contesting the civil penalty shall be provided with a hearing in accordance with 2 Pa.C.S. Chs. 5 Subch. B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies) and 7 Subch. B (relating to judicial review of local agency action).

(d) Existing provisions preserved.--Nothing in this section shall supersede or preempt any ordinance, resolution or other requirement of a county to submit information on substantial improvements in effect on the effective date of this subsection.

(e) Substantial improvement value.--Beginning January 1 of the year immediately following the effective date of this subsection and each January 1 thereafter, the amount set forth in subsection (b) shall be increased by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland area, for the most recent 12-month period that figures have been officially reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics immediately prior to the date the adjustment is due to take effect. The chief assessor shall maintain an accurate record of the adjusted amount applicable for each year.

(July 7, 2022, P.L.455, No.41, eff. 60 days)