This blog features case law related to real estate, land use, zoning, and municipal law in Pennsylvania

Month: April 2016

Home Rule Municipalities May Use Authority Granted Under Previous Governing Statute

In this case the Commonwealth Court was asked to further elaborate on its holding in City of Reading v. Iezzi, 78 A.3d 1257 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2013). Iezzi held that a municipal recycling fee covering all costs associated with a municipality’s recycling program violated Act 101. Specifically, the issue was whether a partial fee was also in violation of Act 101.  While the court remanded the matter for further analysis by the trial court based on its recent decision in Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Protection, 107 A.3d 273 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2015), the court did hold that a home rule municipality may rely on powers granted to it under its previous governing statute, in this case the Third Class Cities Code.

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The Type Of Agency That Receives A RTKL Request Matters

In this Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) case the Commonwealth Court was asked to weigh in on situations where one agency holds a record containing information about another agency or another agency’s personnel, and who may decide to release or withhold such information if requested under the RTKL. Specifically addressing bills for the cellphones of several judges that were paid for by the county government, the court determined a RTKL request for these records must be directed to the respective judicial agency to determine whether to release the records.

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