NEW YORK - A Pennsylvania Senate committee passed a bill Wednesday calling for a state takeover of Harrisburg and other distressed communities that don’t approve a financial recovery plan under the Act 47 program.
The Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee voted 9 to 5, along party lines, to pass a measure by Jeffrey Piccola, R-Halifax, a committee member who voted with his Republican majority.
The full Senate could act on the legislation as soon as Friday, and if it approves it, the House could take it up next week.
The law would ban so-called third-class cities such as Harrisburg from filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection if they reject an Act 47 recovery plan. Such a plan is now before the City Council. The state categorizes its cities into classes, or tiers, by population. For example, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are first-class cities. Piccola’s bill also calls for appointing a state-county management board with full powers to implement Act 47 should city officials reject it or not settle on an alternative that Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration would accept.
Piccola and his supporters want the law to take effect before Harrisburg could file for bankruptcy. The City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution to start preparing a bankruptcy petition.
