11 Pa.C.S. Ch. 119

11 Pa.C.S. Ch. 119
in effect

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901 Power to make and regulate contracts.

(a) General rule.--Each city may execute contracts for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this part and the laws of this Commonwealth. In addition to and consistent with the requirements of this chapter, council shall, by ordinance, provide for and regulate the procedures for the award of all contracts, including the purchase of supplies and materials. (b) Real and personal property.--Contracts for the sale of real and personal property shall conform to the provisions of section 12402.1 (relating to city property and affairs).

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.1 Contracts or purchases in excess of base amount of $18,500.

(a) General rule.--Except as provided in section 11901.4(b) (relating to contracts or purchases not requiring advertising or bidding), all contracts or purchases in excess of the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1 (relating to adjustments to base amount based on Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), shall be subject to advertising and competitive bidding as provided in this chapter. (b) Contract.--All services and personal property required by any city municipal department, where the amount exceeds the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1, shall be furnished and performed under written contract. The contract shall be awarded and given to the lowest responsible bidder after advertising two times, each publication on a different day, in not more than two newspapers of general circulation, in accordance with the provisions of section 10109 (relating to publication of notices). The bids shall not be opened until at least 10 days have elapsed after the first advertisement is published. A copy of the advertisement for contracts or purchases shall be posted in the city office designated by council. Cross References. Section 11901.1 is referred to in section 11903.1 of this title.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.2 Contracts or purchases not in excess of base amount of $18,500.

With regard to all contracts or purchases not in excess of the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1 (relating to adjustments to base amount based on Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), the following shall apply: (1) The purchases or contracts shall be evidenced by note or memorandum in writing, signed by the officer or employee making the purchase or contract. (2) Council, or the officer designated by council, shall approve all purchases or contracts, except council need not approve those purchases or contracts within the category of small or routine purchases or incidental expenses, as defined by ordinance.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.3 Determining amount of contract.

The amount of the contract shall be the entire amount which the city pays to the successful bidder or the successful bidder's assigns in order to obtain the services or property, or both, and shall not be construed to mean only the amount which is paid to acquire title or to receive any other particular benefit or benefits of the whole bargain.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.4 Contracts or purchases not requiring advertising or bidding.

(a) Not in excess of base amount.--City contracts or purchases, if not in excess of the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1 (relating to adjustments to base amount based on Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), shall not require advertising or bidding. (b) In excess of base amount.--The following city contracts or purchases involving an expenditure over the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1, do not require advertising or bidding: (1) Contracts for maintenance, repairs or replacements for water, electric light or other public works of the city, if they do not constitute new additions, extensions or enlargements of existing facilities and equipment. Security may be required by council as in other cases of work done. (2) Contracts for improvements, repairs and maintenance of any kind made or provided by any city through its own employees, except that this exception shall not apply to construction materials used in a street improvement. (3) Contracts for new equipment, articles, apparatus, appliances or vehicles which are patented or copyrighted products. (4) Contracts involving any policies of insurance or surety company bonds. (5) Contracts for public utility service and electricity, natural gas or telecommunication services, provided that, in the case of utilities not under tariff with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, contracts made without advertising and bidding shall be made only after receiving written or telephonic price quotations from at least three qualified and responsible providers. In lieu of price quotations, a memorandum shall be kept on file showing that fewer than three qualified providers exist in the market area within which it is practicable to obtain quotations. A written record of telephonic price quotations shall be made and shall contain at least the date of the quotation, the name of the provider and the provider's representative, the type of service that was the subject of the quotation and the price. Written price quotations, written records of telephonic price quotations and memoranda shall be retained for a period of three years. (6) Contracts entered into with the Federal Government, the Commonwealth, another political subdivision or a county, any agency of the Federal Government or the Commonwealth, any municipal authority, including the sale, leasing or loan of any supplies or materials by the Federal Government or the Commonwealth, or their agencies, but the price shall not be in excess of that fixed by the Federal Government, the Commonwealth or their agencies. (7) Contracts involving personal or professional services. (8) Contracts executed during a state of emergency declared by the mayor in accordance with section 11203 (relating to execution of laws, powers of sheriff conferred and emergency powers) or those made during a disaster emergency declared by the Governor or during a local emergency in accordance with 35 Pa.C.S. Pt. V (relating to emergency management services). (9) Those for used personal property, such as equipment, articles, apparatus, appliances, vehicles or parts of vehicles being purchased from a volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or volunteer rescue squad. (Oct. 24, 2018, P.L.885, No.140, eff. 60 days) 2018 Amendment. Act 140 added subsec. (b)(9). Cross References. Section 11901.4 is referred to in section 11901.1 of this title.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.5 Receipt, opening, award or rejection of bids.

(a) Advertisement.--If advertisement and bidding are required, the advertisement shall specify the time and place bids will be received and the time and place for the opening of bids. (b) Bids.--Bids received pursuant to advertisement shall be opened publicly by council or its designated agent. The amount of each bid and any other relevant information as may be specified by council, together with the name of each bidder, shall be disclosed and recorded, and the record shall be open to public inspection. (c) Award or rejection.--At a public meeting of council, not more than 60 days after the receipt of bids, council shall either award the contract or reject all bids.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.6 Bid, performance and payment security.

(a) Bid security.--The following shall apply to bid security: (1) Council may require that bids received pursuant to advertisement be accompanied by bid security, in a reasonable amount, which shall be in the form of a certified or bank check or a bond provided by a surety company authorized to do business in this Commonwealth or another form of security as specified in the advertisement for bids. (2) In the event the successful bidder shall, upon award of the contract, fail to comply with the requirements of subsection (b) as to performance security, the bid security shall be forfeited to the city as liquidated damages. (b) Performance security.--The following shall apply to performance security: (1) In the case of a contract that had been subject to advertising and bidding, the successful bidder shall be required to furnish performance security in the form of a bond or irrevocable letter of credit in an amount equal to 100% of the contract price with suitable reasonable requirements guaranteeing the performance of the contract. Performance security shall be provided within 20 days after the contract has been awarded, unless council prescribes a shorter period of not less than 10 days. Failure to furnish the security within the required time period shall void the award. (2) The provisions of this subsection requiring successful bidders to furnish performance security shall not be mandatory as to contracts for the purchase of motor vehicles or other pieces of equipment but only as to those contracts which involve furnishing of labor and materials. Council may, in all cases of contracts or purchases, require security for performance, delivery or other terms. (c) Payment security.--The following shall apply to payment security: (1) In conformity with the act of December 20, 1967 (P.L.869, No.385), known as the Public Works Contractors' Bond Law of 1967, it shall be the duty of every city to require any individual, partnership, association or corporation entering into a contract with the city for the construction, erection, installation, completion, alteration, repair of or addition to any public work or improvement of any kind, where the amount of the contract is in excess of $10,000, before commencing work under the contract, to provide payment security in a form acceptable to and approved by the city, which may include, but need not be limited to, any of the following equal to 100% of the contract amount: (i) A bond. (ii) Federal or Commonwealth-chartered lending institution irrevocable letters of credit. (iii) Restrictive or escrow accounts in the lending institutions under subparagraph (ii). (2) The payment security shall be solely for the protection of claimants supplying labor or materials to the prime contractor to whom the contract was awarded, or to any of the prime contractor's subcontractors, in the execution of the work provided for in the contract. The payment security shall be conditioned for the prompt payment of all material furnished or labor supplied or performed in the execution of the work under the contract.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.7 Compliance with other laws.

Every contract subject to this chapter shall comply, as applicable, with the provisions of the act of August 15, 1961 (P.L.987, No.442), known as the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act, the act of December 20, 1967 (P.L.869, No.385), known as the Public Works Contractors' Bond Law of 1967, the act of January 23, 1974 (P.L.9, No.4), referred to as the Public Contract Bid Withdrawal Law, the act of March 3, 1978 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Steel Products Procurement Act, the act of February 17, 1994 (P.L.73, No.7), known as the Contractor and Subcontractor Payment Act, and 62 Pa.C.S. Chs. 37 Subch. B (relating to motor vehicles), 39 (relating to contracts for public works) and 45 (relating to antibid-rigging).

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.8 Prohibitions.

No individual, consultant, firm or corporation contracting with a city for purposes of rendering personal or professional services to the city shall share with any city officer or employee, and no city officer or employee shall accept, any portion of the compensation or fees paid by the city for the contracted services provided to the city.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11901.9 Lowest responsible bidder.

For purposes of this chapter, the lowest responsible bidder need not be the bidder submitting the lowest dollar amount bid. The city may also consider the quality of goods or services supplied, ease of repair, compatibility with other city equipment or services, responsiveness, past performance of the bidder and any other reasonable factors specified in the advertisement for bids.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11902 Evasion of advertising requirements.

The following shall apply: (1) No elected or appointed official or officials of any city shall evade the provisions of this chapter requiring advertising for bids by purchasing or contracting for services and personal property piecemeal for the purpose of obtaining prices under the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1 (relating to adjustments to base amount based on Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), upon transactions which should, in the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as one transaction amounting to more than the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1. (2) Paragraph (1) is intended to make unlawful the practice of evading advertising requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts, each for less than the advertising requirement price, or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts, each below the price, when, in either case, the transactions involved should have been made as one transaction for one price. (3) Any elected or appointed official who acts in violation of paragraph (1), knowing that the transaction upon which the elected or appointed official acts is or ought to be a part of a larger transaction and that it is being divided in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids, shall be jointly and severally subject to surcharge for 10% of the full amount of the contract or purchase. Wherever it shall appear that an elected or appointed official may have acted in violation of this section but the purchase or contract on which the elected or appointed official acted was not executed, this section shall be inapplicable. Cross References. Section 11902 is referred to in section 11903.1 of this title.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11903.1 Adjustments to base amount based on Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

Adjustments to the base amounts specified under sections 11901.1 (relating to contracts or purchases in excess of base amount of $18,500), 11902 (relating to evasion of advertising requirements) and 11909 (relating to separate bids for plumbing, heating, ventilating and electrical work, elevators and escalators) shall be made as follows: (1) The Department of Labor and Industry shall determine the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items (CPI-U) for the United States City Average, as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the 12-month period ending September 30. (2) If the Department of Labor and Industry determines that there is no positive percentage change, no adjustment to the base amounts shall occur for the relevant time period provided for in this section. (3) (i) If the Department of Labor and Industry determines that there is a positive percentage change in the first year that the determination is made under paragraph (1), the positive percentage change shall be multiplied by each base amount, the products shall be added to the base amounts, respectively, and the sums shall be preliminary adjusted amounts. (ii) The preliminary adjusted amounts shall be rounded to the nearest $100 to determine the final adjusted base amounts for purposes of sections 11901.1 and 11902. (4) In each successive year in which there is a positive percentage change in the CPI-U for the United States City Average, the positive percentage change shall be multiplied by the most recent preliminary adjusted amounts and the products shall be added to the preliminary adjusted amount of the prior year to calculate the preliminary adjusted amounts for the current year. The sums shall be rounded to the nearest $100 to determine the new final adjusted base amounts for purposes of sections 11901.1 and 11902. (5) The determinations and adjustments required under this section shall be made annually after October 1 and before November 15. (6) The final adjusted base amounts and new final adjusted base amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4) shall become effective January 1 for the calendar year following the year in which the determination required under paragraph (1) is made. (7) The Department of Labor and Industry shall publish notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin prior to January 1 of each calendar year of the annual percentage change determined under paragraph (1) and the unadjusted or final adjusted base amounts determined under paragraphs (3) and (4) at which competitive bidding is required under section 11901.1 and advertising is required under section 11902 or separate bids are required under section 11909 for the calendar year beginning the first day of January after publication of the notice. The notice shall include a written and illustrative explanation of the calculations performed by the Department of Labor and Industry in establishing the unadjusted or final adjusted base amounts under this section for the ensuing calendar year. (8) The annual increase in the preliminary adjusted base amounts obtained under paragraphs (3) and (4) shall not exceed 3%. Cross References. Section 11903.1 is referred to in sections 11901.1, 11901.2, 11901.4, 11902, 11909 of this title.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11906 Designation of appropriations, certification in excess of appropriation and contracts for governmental services for more than one year.

With regard to any contract, council may direct the city administrator, chief fiscal officer or other designated official or employee to furnish information concerning the availability of appropriated money to satisfy required payments under the contract. Nothing in this section shall prevent the making of contracts for governmental services for a period exceeding one year, but any contract shall be executed only for the amounts agreed to be paid for the services to be rendered in succeeding fiscal years.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11908.1 Purchase contracts for petroleum products, fire company and participation.

Council of each city shall have power to permit, subject to any terms and conditions as the city may impose, any fire company, rescue company and ambulance company in the city to participate in purchase contracts for petroleum products entered into by the city. Fire company, rescue company and ambulance company participation in purchase contracts for petroleum products shall be subject to the condition that all prices shall be FOB. If permitted by council, a fire company, rescue company or ambulance company may participate in designated petroleum product contracts entered into by the city, subject to the fire company, rescue company or ambulance company: (1) Having filed with the city clerk a request that it be authorized to participate in contracts for the purchase of petroleum products of the city. (2) Having agreed that it will be bound by any terms and conditions imposed by the city. (3) Having agreed that it will be responsible for payment directly to the vendor under each purchase contract.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11909 Separate bids for plumbing, heating, ventilating and electrical work, elevators and escalators.

The following shall apply: (1) In the preparation of specifications for the erection, construction and alteration of any public building, when the entire cost of the work shall exceed the base amount of $18,500, subject to adjustment under section 11903.1 (relating to adjustments to base amount based on Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers), the architect, engineer or other person preparing the specifications shall prepare only the following separate specifications: (i) Plumbing. (ii) Heating. (iii) Ventilating. (iv) Electrical work. (v) Elevators and escalators. (vi) One complete set of specifications for all the other work to be done in the erection, construction and alteration. (2) The project manager, construction manager or other person authorized by council to enter into contracts for the erection, construction or alteration of the public buildings shall receive separate bids upon each of the branches of work and council or the appropriate city officer shall award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder for each of the branches, including the balance of the work, in addition to the plumbing, heating, ventilating and electrical work and elevators and escalators. Where it is desired to install an air conditioning unit, the heating and ventilating may be regarded as one branch of work having only one set of specifications, and bids may be received and a contract awarded on that set as provided under this chapter. Cross References. Section 11909 is referred to in section 11903.1 of this title.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11910 Acceptance by contractor of Workers' Compensation Act.

(a) General rule.--All contracts executed by any city which involve the construction or performance of any work involving the employment of labor shall contain a provision that the contractor shall accept and file with the city, proof of compliance with or exemption from the act of June 2, 1915 (P.L.736, No.338), known as the Workers' Compensation Act, insofar as the work covered by the contract is concerned. (b) Certificate of exemption.--A certificate of exemption from issuance may be issued on the basis of either individual self-insurance or group self-insurance. (c) Exception.--A contractor shall file with the city any proof that the Department of Labor and Industry, with respect to certain employees, has accepted the application to be excepted from the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act on religious grounds. (d) Violation.--Any contract executed in violation of this section is void.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11911 Contracts for improvements and assignment of assessments.

Where the whole or any part of the cost of an improvement is to be paid by assessments upon the property abutting or benefited, the city may enter into an agreement with the contractor pursuant to which the contractor shall take an assignment of the assessments in payment of the amount due under the terms of the contract, and the city shall not be otherwise liable under the contract.

11 Pa.C.S. § 11912 Architects and engineers in employ of city, prohibitions from bidding on public works and penalty.

(a) Bidding.--It shall be unlawful for any architect or engineer in the employ of any city to bid on any public work of the city. (b) Award.--It shall be unlawful for the officers of any city, charged with the duty of letting any public work, to award a contract to any architect or engineer in the employ of the city. (c) Violation.--Any person violating these provisions commits a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be subject to forfeiting office, in accordance with section 10901 (relating to appointment, removal and prohibition), and sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $500, or to imprisonment for not less than six months, or both. Any contract made in violation of the provisions of this section shall be null and void. (d) Construction.--The provisions of this section shall be in addition to any prohibition in 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 11 (relating to ethics standards and financial disclosure).

11 Pa.C.S. § 11916 Contracts with passenger or transportation companies.

Except as may be prohibited by 66 Pa.C.S. Pt. I (relating to public utility code) or Federal or other State regulation of transportation or commerce, a city may, as it deems necessary for the public benefit and convenience, contract with a person owning a public transportation service, railroad company, street railway, motor power company or passenger or transportation company.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=11Fetched: 10/16/2026

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