Section 1203. Land Office.--The Department of Community Affairs shall have the power, and its duty shall be: (Par. amended Dec. 18, 1968, P.L.1232, No.390)
(a) To act as the Land Office of the Commonwealth.
(b) To maintain and preserve the records of the first titles acquired by the proprietaries, and the Commonwealth, to all the lands within its boundaries, the records of all lands and conveyances from the proprietaries and the Commonwealth to the purchasers of the land, the papers relating to the surveys of the State and county lines, and the reports of commissioners relating to the boundary lines of the State, maps and other papers pertaining to the colonial history of Pennsylvania, contracts for, section profile maps and other records of and relating to the public works, and all other relevant records relating to titles to real estate now or heretofore owned or hereafter to be acquired by the Commonwealth. ((b) amended Sept. 20, 1961, P.L.1537, No.655)
(c) So to arrange the evidences of title in its custody, by filing, recording, and indexing, as to facilitate searches, examinations, and inspections.
(d) To furnish certified copies of any such records to the heads of departments, upon request, for use in the furtherance of the business of the Commonwealth.
(e) To furnish copies of all records, documents, entries, and papers, in its custody to such persons as shall apply for the same and pay such fees as may now or hereafter be prescribed by law.
Compiler's Note: Section 301(a)(16) of Act 58 of 1996, which created the Department of Community and Economic Development and abolished the Department of Community Affairs, provided that all other powers and duties delegated to the Department of Community Affairs not otherwise expressly transferred elsewhere by Act 58 and currently performed by the Department of Community Affairs under section 1203 are transferred from the Department of Community Affairs to the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Section 703 of Act 58 of 1996 provided that the Land Office as provided for in section 1203 shall hereafter be an administrative entity located in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.