Title 16, COUNTIES

An individual holding an elective office under the County Code shall continue to hold the office until the expiration of the individual's term, subject to the conditions and salary attached to the office prior to October 24, 2018.

If reference is made to any act, the reference shall also apply to and include any codifications in which the provisions of the act referred to are substantially reenacted or to reenactments, revisions or amendments of the act.

The provisions of this title shall be severable, and, if any of its provisions are held to be unconstitutional, the decision of the court may not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this title. It is declared as a legislative intent that this title would have been …

The affairs of counties shall be legislated for and regulated by general laws, applicable to each county, or to particular classes, as fixed and appointed by this title. Each law adopted by the General Assembly for one or more of the classes fixed and appointed by this title shal…

The Commonwealth shall be divided into 67 named counties, as now established by law. The counties shall be Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawf…

For the purposes of legislation and the regulation of a county's affairs, counties of this Commonwealth, now in existence and counties to be created, shall be divided into nine classes as follows: (1) First class counties, having a population of at least 1,500,000 inhabitants. (2…

(a) Ascertainment.--The classification of counties shall be ascertained and fixed according to population by reference to the Federal decennial census under this section, less the number of individuals residing on lands that have been ceded to the United States. (b) Certification…

(a) Boundary lines.--The boundary line between two or more adjoining counties may be determined, surveyed, established or marked as provided under this title. (b) Petition.--The process under subsection (a) shall be instituted on petition of a taxpayer, the county commissioners o…

(a) Designation.--The court, upon the filing of the petition, shall designate a court of a county not affected by the question and not adjoining any of the counties involved to act in the proceeding. The designated court shall sit in the court's home county. (b) Appointment.--If …

(a) Compensation.--The surveyors or professional engineers composing the boundary commission under section 502 (relating to Commonwealth Court designation of neutral court and appointment of commission) shall each receive compensation fixed by the court for the time necessarily s…

(a) Oath.--The members of the boundary commission shall take and subscribe the oath under 53 Pa.C.S. § 1141 (relating to form of oaths of office) prior to assuming duties with the commission. (b) Organization.--The boundary commission shall: (1) Meet and organize within two weeks…

(a) Recommendations.--If the boundary commission cannot determine, ascertain or locate the existing county line, the commission shall report to the court of common pleas with a recommendation that a new county line be established in whole or in part. (b) Establishing new lines.--…

(a) Report.--The boundary commission shall prepare a written report containing a map or draft showing the courses and distances of the line ascertained and designated by the commission as the existing county line, or if the commission has been directed to fix and determine a new …

(a) Short title of subchapter.--This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the County Officer and Employee Fiscal Security Act. (b) Scope of subchapter.--This subchapter applies to security coverage and additional coverage in the form of bonds, blanket bond or insurance, …

The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Additional coverage." Insurance that covers each county at a minimum for the loss of money or property through robbe…

(a) In general.--A county shall obtain security coverage and additional coverage for county officers and employees in accordance with this subchapter. (b) Security coverage.--Security coverage shall be provided in accordance with the following: (1) Section 1124 (relating to offic…

(a) Official security.--Each county shall obtain official security in the form of bonds, a blanket bond or a crime-fidelity insurance policy, which is endorsed with faithful performance of duty coverage, that protects the county from losses caused by acts of the officers set fort…

A county shall obtain security coverage with faithful performance of duty coverage for all county officers and employees who are not subject to section 1124 (relating to official security and officers), including deputies and other appointees in each county office, who are requir…

Each county shall obtain security coverage for county officers and employees acting as agents of a Commonwealth agency or governing authority in accordance with this subchapter or any other law, regulation or rule requiring the posting of security in the form of a bond or otherwi…

(a) In general.--A county may comply with section 1123(b) (relating to required security) by providing bonds or a blanket bond in accordance with the following: (1) The bond or blanket bond shall be joint and several, with one or more surety companies authorized to do business in…

A county may comply with section 1123(b) (relating to required security) by providing crime-fidelity insurance for county officers or employees in accordance with this subchapter.

The form and contents of a bond, a blanket bond or insurance obtained in compliance with this subchapter shall be approved by the governing body of the county, after review by the county solicitor and consultation with the county risk manager, if any. In cases in which required s…

(a) Governing body.--The governing body shall establish a procedure pursuant to which the governing body shall annually determine the form and amount of required security that will be reasonably sufficient to protect against the risks of loss in compliance with this subchapter. (…

(a) Custody.--The governing body shall direct the chief clerk or equivalent officer in a home rule or optional plan county to present the documents evidencing required security obtained in accordance with this subchapter to the recorder of deeds or equivalent officer in a home ru…

(a) Premiums and costs.--The premiums and costs for all forms of required security for county officials and employees shall be paid by the county. The requirement of this subchapter that a county acquire and pay the premiums and costs for required security shall not relieve a Com…

(a) Compliance.--A requirement in another law, regulation or rule that a bond be provided by a county officer or employee to secure the faithful performance of duty or to act as the agent of a Commonwealth agency or governing authority may be satisfied by including this obligatio…

The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Discharge." As follows: (1) Each final discharge of each: (i) Noncommissioned officer discharged from service under con…

The recorder of deeds shall record each final discharge.

A record of a discharge received by the recorder of deeds for recording shall be confidential and may not be disclosed except as follows: (1) To the individual who is the subject of the discharge, to a member of the individual's immediate family or, as authorized in writing, to t…

(a) Authorization.--Notwithstanding any provision of this title or any other law, each county of the first class may impose an excise tax on the rental of a rental vehicle in that county. If the county is coterminous with a city of the first class, imposition of the tax in the co…

In counties of the second class, the following shall apply: (1) The salary of the solicitor to the medical examiner shall be determined by the salary board. The salary shall be paid from the fees received and paid into the office of the coroner. (2) Costs and expenses incurred by…

Except where otherwise specifically provided, this part applies to each county of the second class A and third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth class.

Unless otherwise specifically provided in this part, if a pecuniary penalty or forfeiture is imposed by this part, the proceeding for the recovery of the pecuniary penalty or forfeiture shall be by indictment in the court of common pleas or by civil action as debts of equivalent …

(a) Proceedings.--In addition to the remedies provided by law for the collection of tax and municipal claims, a county may proceed for the recovery and collection of a tax or municipal claim owed to the county against each owner of the property owing the tax or municipal claim to…

(a) Publication.-- (1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), if advertisement, notice or publication is required to be published in one newspaper, the publication shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation as defined in 45 Pa.C.S. § 101 (relating to definitions) printe…

Each county shall have capacity as a body corporate to: (1) Have succession perpetually by the county's corporate name. (2) Sue and be sued and complain and defend in all proper courts by the name of the county of . . . . . . . . (3) Purchase, acquire by gift or otherwise, hold, …

The corporate power of each county shall be vested in the county commissioners.

(a) Election.--In each county, the following officers shall be elected by the qualified electors of the county: (1) Three county commissioners. (2) Three auditors or, in counties of the second class A and in each county in which the office of auditor has been or shall be abolishe…

(a) Legislative member, school director or board of health member.--An elected county officer or, in counties of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth class, county solicitor, if the county solicitor is an individual, may not, at the same time, serve as: (1) A membe…

(a) Requirement.--In addition to an oath or affirmation required by another statute, each county officer and the county officer's deputies, assistants and clerks shall, before entering on the duties of the individual's respective offices or employments, take and subscribe the oat…

Each county officer receiving a commission from the Governor shall, immediately, deliver the same to the recorder of deeds for recordation. An officer may not execute any of the duties of office until the commission has been delivered.

(a) County seat.--Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d), each county commissioner, auditor, controller, treasurer, sheriff, recorder of deeds, prothonotary, clerk of courts, clerk of orphans' court, register of wills and district attorney shall keep the individual's resp…

Except as provided under this chapter, each record of a county office shall be open for inspection subject to the rules and regulations provided under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.

(a) Demand and receipt.--An elected or appointed person, duly commissioned to a county office, shall demand and receive each record, book, draft, plan, paper, seal or other official thing, including public money held in the office, and not provided for under Article XIII.1 of the…

(a) Appointment.-- (1) If a county officer is authorized or required to appoint a deputy, the deputy or principal deputy, if there is more than one, shall, during the necessary or temporary absence of the deputy's principal, perform each duty of the principal and, in case of a va…