commonwealth of pennsylvania - The Pennsylvania General Assembly

1344 LEGISLATIVE JOURNAL-HOUSE JUNE 30,
Mr. Speaker, I will explain my amendment and a current
situation that needs correcting immediately. What we have is
a situation where a municipal authority formed within one
municipality acquires a private facility outside its boundary
line. The problem we have is that there is no recourse for any
ratemaking, any acquisition, or anything. All I am asking
here is that the authority-and there is good reason in many
cases for an authority to acquire another facility-all they
have to do is notify the users, notify the municipality in which
the other facility is located, and put a person on their board
after the acquisition has taken place, one member. That is all
it says here in this amendment. I would appreciate your
support.
The SPEAKER. On the question of the adoption of the
amendments, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Venango, Mr. Levi.
Mr. LEVI. Mr. Speaker, I have to oppose this amendment.
The first part of it, notifying and a public hearing, I think is
quite right and proper. But 1 do not see why when an
authority goes out and purchases another utility and goes
through the public hearing process and everything, why they
have to put somebody on the board. 1 think when you have
your own operation and you purchase one that is in financial
difficulty or for some other reason needs to sell, why do you
have to take someone out of that outfit and put them on your
board? I think it is well that you have a public hearing and
public notice. I think that would be fine, but taking somebody
from that area and putting them on your board and diluting
the board of real efficient authority, I think, is wrong, and I
would recommend we defeat this amendment.
The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the lady from
Delaware, Mrs. Durham.
Mrs. DURHAM. Mr. Speaker, will Mr. Levi stand for
interrogation?
The SPEAKER. The gentleman, Mr. Levi, agrees to stand
for interrogation. The lady may proceed.
Mrs. DURHAM. Mr. Speaker, could you summarize why
you are opposed to Mr. Wilson's amendment?
Mr. LEVI. Mr. Speaker, my objection to this amendment is
the last part of the amendment that requires the governing
body of the old company or utility by placing somebody on
the board of the company that is purchasing the old one. This
dilutes the authority that is efficient in the running of a good
operation by taking somebody in from the authority that for
some reason got into difficulty and has to be absorbed. I just
thing we are diluting it from people who are not running a
good operation, and it is not in the best interest of all authori-
ties.
Mrs. DURHAM. Mr. Speaker, you do oppose this amend-
ment. Is that correct?
Mr. LEVI. Yes. It is not divisible, so, yes, I oppose the
amendment.
Mrs. DURHAM. Thank you.
The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Allegheny, Mr. McVerry.
Mr. McVERRY. Mr. Speaker, by law the governing body
of a municipal authority are board members. Those board
members are appointed to that position by the municipality
that created the authority, who have the ultimate responsi-
bility for the existence of that authority. There is no reason-
able reason or logical reason that I can see as to why that
municipal authority, who is ultimately responsible to the
municipality that created it, should be required to take onto
its board a member of a facility that is being acquired by the
authority who has the ultimate responsibility to see to the
appropriate management of the authority. I urge a negative
vote on the amendment, and I see no reasonable reason for it
to be adopted. Thank you.
The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Berks, Mr. Fryer. On the amendment, Mr. Fryer?
Mr. FRYER. On the amendment.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman is recognized.
Mr. FRYER. Mr. Speaker, I would urge a "no" voteon the
amendment.
The SPEAKER. Does the gentleman from Somerset, Mr.
Lloyd, wish to be recognized on the amendment?
Mr. LLOYD. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman may proceed.
Mr. LLOYD. Would the gentleman, Mr. Wilson, stand for
brief interrogation?
The SPEAKER. The gentleman indicates he will. The
gentleman, Mr. Lloyd, may proceed.
Mr. LLOYD. Mr. Speaker, I want to understand exactly
how this is going to work. If the municipal authority buys
facilities outside the boundaries of the municipal authority, it
then would have to place a former user or someone who is a
user of those facilities outside the municipal authority on the
authority board. Is that correct, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. WILSON. No. If an acquiring authority goes outside
the municipality that formed that authority to acquire another
facility, it would have to agree to accept one person from that
municipality as a vote on that authority so that it could handle
condemnation, ratemaking, and all those things that that
board would do and let its municipality know what is going
on.
Mr. LLOYD. Mr. Speaker, would it matter whether the
number of users outside the municipal authority boundary
was 10 or 1,000? There would still be one member appointed.
Is that correct, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. WILSON. That is correct; only one. They could
acquire five different facilities in the municipality, but only
one person would be named as a voting member and a repre-
sentative of that municipality to report back to the munici-
pality what is going on.
Mr. LLOYD. So then, Mr. Speaker, if a municipal
authority serves 5,000 people and wants to acquire some sewer
lines or water lines which had been put there years ago which
would serve 10 families outside the municipal authority, then
the municipality outside the boundaries of the municipal
authority would be entitled to one member on the municipal
authority. Is that correct?
Mr. WILSON. In the municipality where they have
acquired any facilities, they would put one person on whether
they were 10,000, 10 million people, or what. You know,