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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, directing the County Solicitor to pursue a legal remedy against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in order to recover any revenues that may be due to the County as a result of continuing County funding of the state's court system.
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WHEREAS, in 1987, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held unconstitutional various statutes that required counties to fund the operation of the Courts of Common Pleas; and
WHEREAS, the enforcement of the Supreme Court's judgment was stayed in order to give the General Assembly an opportunity to develop appropriate funding legislation; this stay left in place the system of county funding; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly took no action until a second case was filed in 1996 by the Pennsylvania State Association of County Commissioners to compel the implementation of the Supreme Court's 1987 decision; and
WHEREAS, in this second case, the Supreme Court held that the relief authorized in 1987 must be granted by the General Assembly, but in doing so acknowledged that its first opinion had provided inadequate direction on implementation; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court accordingly appointed former Justice Frank J. Montemuro, Jr. as its Master to report to the Court on matters of implementation, and Members of the legislature established a working group to confer with the Master on making recommendations for the transition to state funding, which resulted in The Interim Report of the Master; and
WHEREAS, this interim report was docketed on July 30, 1997 and recommended a phased transition for moving county employees of the court system to state employment, but this process has not been completed and the Commonwealth still has not fully assumed its established duty of funding the various Courts of Common Pleas; and
WHEREAS, throughout the course of and at all times since this litigation, Allegheny County has maintained responsibility for funding the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas; and
WHEREAS, since the Supreme Court reaffirmed the unconstitutionality of requiring the counties to fund their Courts of Common Pleas in 1996, Allegheny County has expended roughly $488.2 million of the County's revenues in funding the Court of Common Pleas; and
WHEREAS, the taxpayers and residents of Allegheny County would derive a clear benefit from the recovery of these revenues;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1. Pursuit of Legal Remedy
The Council hereby instructs the County Solicitor to pursue a legal remedy against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in order to recover any revenues that may be due to the County as a result of continuing County funding of the state's court system.
SECTION 2. Severability
If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 3. Repealer
Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.