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Pennsylvania State Associationof Township Supervisors

4855 Woodland DriveEnola, PA 17025

Phone: (717) 763-0930Fax: (717) 763-9732

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And SERVE your township BETTER.

Your role as a township solicitor covers a lot of ground and requires up-to-date information on the latest court cases, laws, and regulations affecting your municipal clients.

Fortunately, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Solicitors is here to help you keep pace – through publications, education, and consulta-tion with our staff and legal counsel on any issues affecting your township clients.

Being a member of the Pennsylvania State Asso-ciation of Township Solicitors means being part of a statewide information network.

From newsletter and magazine subscriptions to training and networking opportuni-ties, membership is your ticket to information that can help you do your job better.

Annual dues: $250 per person.

thePennsylvania State Association of Township Solicitors

DON’T WAIT ... Membership benefits include: Subscriptions to:

– The Township Solicitor, the official bi-monthly newsletter of the Township Solicitors Association

– The Pennsylvania Township News, PSATS’ award-winning monthly magazine

– The PSATS News Bulletin, a monthly newsletter that will keep you up to date on legislation and other breaking news affecting townships

Lower member rate to attend all PSATS training courses, including semi-annual seminars address-ing current issues and topics of special interest to township solicitors (courses eligible for CLE’s)

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Consultation with PSATS’ staff and legal counsel

A $100 discount on advertising in the Pa. Township News Professional Directory

sign up today and take advantage of the benefits of membership!

To join the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Solicitors, go to solicitors.psats.org or complete this form (front and back) and send to:

PSATS • 4855 Woodland Drive • Enola, PA 17025 Phone: (717) 763-0930 • Fax: (717) 763-9732

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NewsBulletin

PSATS

PENNSYLVANIA STATE ASSOCIATION OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS

4855 WOODLAND DRIVE ENOLA, PA 17025 TELEPHONE: (717) 763-0930 FAX: (717) 763-9732 www.psats.org

A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER CONTAINING THE LATEST INFORMATION ON LEGISLATION AND NEWS OF INTEREST TO TOWNSHIPS

FEBRUARY 2015

Wolf Unveils Severance Tax Proposal In February, Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled the outline of his proposed natural gas

severance tax. The proposal would enact a 5-percent severance tax plus 4.7 cents per thousand feet of volume on natural gas extraction. He expects the levy to generate $1 billion by 2017 and would use the revenues to fund public education. Wolf’s plan is modeled on West Virginia’s severance tax. The proposal states that it would continue payments made to impacted communities and exempt gas given away for free, gas from low producing wells, and wells brought back into production after not having produced marketable quantities of gas. It will also continue to prohibit any portion of the tax from being deducted from royalty payments.

PSATS Executive Director David Sanko responded to the proposal. “PSATS is very concerned about the potential loss of local impact fee revenues, which are invaluable to our townships and their taxpayers. The natural gas industry has helped and should continue to help communities that have been affected by drilling and the costs associated with this economic development opportunity.

“That said, Gov. Wolf’s proposal represents a first step in the dialogue, and PSATS is committed to ensuring that any plan presented doesn’t change the distribution model for municipalities that are currently receiving impact fee revenues. We commend Gov. Wolf’s commitment to this position as evidenced in his policy statement to the legislature, where he said: ‘My proposal would continue the payments made to communities impacted by drilling that are currently funded by the impact fee.’

“We look forward to working with the legislature and the governor to preserve this valuable community resource that helps to keep local property taxes down.”

PSATS will provide more details about the proposal as they become available.

Free Member Webinars on Wolf’s Proposed Budget, 457 Plan Benefits

The following free webinars will be offered as a benefit to PSATS members in the coming weeks:

Analyzing the Numbers: What Gov. Wolf’s 2015-2016 State Budget Means to Your Community — This members-only session will be hosted by the Association’s legislative staff, who will help local officials understand the proposal, which will be unveiled March 3, and its impact on local governments. The webinar is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. March 10.

An Introduction to The Trustees’ 457 Plan — The PSATS Trustees Insurance Fund is offering an introductory webinar on its 457 Plan to show how this “no-cost” retirement option can be a valuable benefit for township employees. Scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. March 12, the webinar will feature Doug Johnson of Summit Financial Corporation. The 457 Plan allows pre-tax contributions that are taxable at distribution, Roth contributions taxable now with tax-free distributions at retirement, or a

In his severance

tax proposal,

Gov. Tom Wolf

stated that

payments made

to impacted

communities

would continue.

THE TOWNSHIP SOLICITOR — MARCH / APRIL 2015 1

PENNSYLVANIA STATE ASSOCIATION

OF TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS

David M. Sanko, Executive Director

Scott E. Coburn, Esq., General Counsel

T H E O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E P E N N S Y L V A N I A S T A T E A S S O C I A T I O N O F T O W N S H I P S O L I C I T O R S

March / April 2015 • Vol. 47, No. 2

TheTownship

Solicitor

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

2 Records on Personal Cellphones Subject to Disclosure under RTKL —

Paint Tp. v. Clark

3 Township Immune from Liability; Property Owner Stuck with Dam-

ages Caused by Sewer System Failure — Gibellino v. Manchester Tp.

Trial Court Enjoins Three City of Harrisburg Firearms Ordinances —

U.S. Law Shield of Pennsylvania, LLC v. City of Harrisburg

4 Ohio Supreme Court Rejects Local Regulation of Oil and Gas Drilling

— State ex rel. Morrison v. Beck Energy Corp.

Agencies Must Provide Notice

and an Opportunity to

Be Heard Before Disclosing

Personal Information

A recent Commonwealth Court decision will, if upheld,

significantly impact the process through which agencies

respond to Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) requests seeking

individuals’ personal identification information.

In Pennsylvania State Educ. Ass’n ex rel. Wilson v.

Commonwealth, ___ A.3d ___, 2015 WL 652253 (Pa.

Cmwlth. Feb. 17, 2015), the Commonwealth Court

found that the RTKL violated principles of due process

because it does not provide affected individuals with

notice that a request for their personal information has

been received, an opportunity to be heard, and status to

challenge an agency’s decision.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association

(PSEA) sought a judgment that the home addresses of

public school employees are protected from disclosure

under several RTKL exceptions. It also argued that the

RTKL violates the constitutional due process rights

of individuals whose personal information is sought

through RTKL requests. After several years of amend-

ments and motion practice, the parties filed cross mo-

tions for summary judgment.

The Commonwealth Court, with Judge Renee

Cohn Jubelirer writing for the majority, agreed with

PSEA that the RTKL, as written, violates constitu-

tional due process rights. The court noted that there

is no provision for individuals whose information is

to be disclosed to receive notice at the request stage

and an opportunity to demonstrate that access to the

requested records should be denied pursuant to the

RTKL’s personal security exception, Section 708(b)

(1)(ii). As a result, the court noted, the “RTKL, by its terms,

leaves to chance that the government agency would be

knowledgeable about an affected individual’s situa-

tion and be able to prove, by a preponderance of the

evidence, that an affected individual’s information is

exempt from access.”

The court further found that the “lack of procedural

due process prior to granting access to a record es-

sentially eviscerates the General Assembly’s intent to

protect an individual from the risk of personal harm or

risk to his or her personal security that may occur by

the disclosure of such a record.”

Therefore, agencies are “prohibited from granting

access to an individual’s personal address information

without first notifying the affected individual and pro-

viding that affected individual with an opportunity to

demonstrate that disclosure” should be denied pursuant

to the personal security exception. Likewise, the Office

of Open Records is prohibited from granting access to

personal address information without first permitting

the affected individual to intervene in an appeal when

an agency denies a request for such information.

As for the issue that originally triggered the chal-

lenge — whether there is a constitutional right to

privacy in one’s home address — the court held that

its prior decisions in Office of Lt. Governor v. Mohn,

67 A.3d 123 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2013), and Office of Gov-

MAKING THE GRADE Tips and Techniques for Successful Employee EvaluationsDECEMBER 2014 n www.psats.org

EMPLOYMENT LAWFollow TheseSEVEN STEPS to Stay OUT OF HOT WATER