Enabling Legislation

Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act

An Act
Providing for the revitalization of rural Pennsylvania; establishing the Center for Rural Pennsylvania; providing for rural education partnerships and adult literacy programs; allocating funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce for a Regional Center for Continuing Education of Health Science Practitioners in western Pennsylvania; making appropriations; and making a repeal.

Editor's note: While the Table of Contents lists all of the provisions of Act 16, only Chapters 1 and 3 are detailed below.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. General Provisions Section 101. Short title.
Chapter 3. Center for Rural Pennsylvania Section 301. Establishment of Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Section 302. Board of directors.
Section 303. Duties of Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Section 304. Grants.
Section 305. Administrative matters.
Section 306. Data base.
Chapter 5. Rural Education Programs Subchapter A. Rural Education Partnerships
Section 501. Purposes.
Section 502. Eligibility; funding.
Subchapter B. Rural Adult Literacy Program
Section 531. Purpose of program.
Chapter 7. Regional Center for Continuing Education Section 701. Regional Center for Continuing Education.
Chapter 9. Appropriations Section 901. Appropriation for Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Section 902. Appropriation to State System of Higher Education.
Section 903. Appropriation to Department of Commerce.
Section 904. Appropriations nonlapsing.
Chapter 11. Miscellaneous Provisions Section 1101. Repeal.
Section 1102. Effective date.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Chapter 1
General Provisions

Section 101. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act.

Chapter 3
Center for Rural Pennsylvania

Section 301. Establishment of Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
There is hereby established the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which shall be an agency of the General Assembly.


Section 302. Board of directors.
(a) Members.--The Center for Rural Pennsylvania shall be governed by a board of directors which shall consist of 11 members. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two members from the House of Representatives, one from the majority party and one from the minority party. The President pro tempore of the Senate shall appoint two members from the Senate, one from the majority party and one from the minority party. Two members shall be representatives of universities in the State System of Higher Education. One member shall be from The Pennsylvania State University. One member shall be from the University of Pittsburgh. One member shall be the Director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. The Governor shall appoint two members from the following Statewide organizations: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, Pennsylvania Grange Association, Pennsylvania Farmers' Association and Pennsylvania Rural Coalition.
(b) Terms.--The term of office of all members of the board shall be two years. Each member shall be eligible to be reappointed to the board.
(c) Meetings; quorum.--The board shall meet at least every four months, or as often as it deems necessary. Six members of the board shall constitute a quorum.
(d) Expenses.--The members of the board, except for the director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, shall serve without salary or compensation, but shall be entitled to such expenses as are reasonable and necessary to the performance of their duties.

Section 303. Duties of Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
(a) Principal duty.--The Center for Rural Pennsylvania shall administer grants to conduct research on matters related to rural conditions. The role of the center shall be to facilitate and coordinate basic and applied research and service components for faculty, staff and students of those institutions identified in section 304(a) dealing in issues regarding the welfare of rural Pennsylvania.
(b) Regulations.--The board shall promulgate regulations concerning the grant program administered by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

Section 304. Grants.
a) Eligibility.--Grants shall be available only to the qualified faculty members of the various colleges and university members of the State System of Higher Education and the current land grant university.
(b) Amounts.--No grant shall exceed the sum of $50,000.
(c) Subjects.--The subject areas of the grant program are as follows:
(1) Rural people and communities.
(2) Economic development.
(3) Local government finance and administration.
(4) Community services.
(5) Natural resources and environment.
(6) Educational outreach.
(7) Rural values and social change.

Section 305. Administrative matters.
(a) Director.-- The Center for Rural Pennsylvania shall be operated by a director, who shall be selected by the board.
(b) Duties of director.--The director shall employ such persons as he or she deems appropriate for the administration of the grant programs authorized by this act. The director shall also make such other expenditures as the board deems necessary, providing that not more than 15% of the appropriation shall be used for administrative expenses.

Section 306. Data base.
(a) Creation.--The Center for Rural Pennsylvania shall develop and maintain an appropriate base of knowledge and information about rural conditions and needs. This shall be accomplished through a data base.
(b) Major areas.--The data base shall include the following major areas of concern:
(1) Agriculture.
(2) Economic development.
(3) Local government capacity and fiscal stress indicators.
(4) Transportation.
(5) Sociodemographics.
(6) Health care and human services.
(7) Environment and natural resources. (8) Education.
(9) Condition of the extant local infrastructure of Pennsylvania's rural communities.
(c) Arrangement.--The data shall be arranged in such a manner so as to facilitate the monitoring of relationships between and among the various sectors identified for inclusion in the information system.

Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act - Board of Directors

An Act

Amending the act of June 30, 1987 (P.L.163, No.16), entitled "An act providing for the revitalization of rural Pennsylvania; establishing the Center for Rural Pennsylvania; providing for rural education partnerships and adult literacy programs; allocating funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce for a Regional Center for Continuing Education of Health Science Practitioners in western Pennsylvania; making appropriations; and making a repeal," in Center for Rural Pennsylvania, further providing for board of directors and for grants.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Sections 302 and 304 of the act of June 30, 1987 (P.L.163, No.16), known as the Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act, are amended to read:

Section 302. Board of directors. (a) Members.--The Center for Rural Pennsylvania shall be governed by a board of directors which shall consist of 11 members. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two members from the House of Representatives, one from the majority party and one from the minority party. The President pro tempore of the Senate shall appoint two members from the Senate, one from the majority party and one from the minority party. Two members shall be representatives of universities in the State System of Higher Education. One member shall be from The Pennsylvania State University. One member shall be from the University of Pittsburgh. One member shall be the Director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. The Governor shall appoint two members from among the memberships of the following Statewide organizations: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, Pennsylvania Grange Association[, Pennsylvania Farmers' Association and Pennsylvania Rural Coalition] and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.
(b) Terms.--The term of office of all members of the board shall be two years. Each member shall be eligible to be reappointed to the board.
(c) Meetings; quorum.--The board shall meet at least every four months, or as often as it deems necessary. [Six members] A simple majority of the duly qualified members of the board shall constitute a quorum.
(d) Expenses.--The members of the board, except for the director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, shall serve without salary or compensation, but shall be entitled to such expenses as are reasonable and necessary to the performance of their duties. Section 304. Grants.
(a) Eligibility.--Grants shall be available only to the qualified faculty members of the various colleges and university members of the State System of Higher Education and the current land grant university and the regional campuses of the University of Pittsburgh.
(b) Amounts.--No grant shall exceed the sum of [$50,000] $60,000.
(c) Subjects.--The subject areas of the grant program are as follows:
(1) Rural people and communities.
(2) Economic development.
(3) Local government finance and administration.
(4) Community services.
(5) Natural resources and environment.
(6) Educational outreach.
(7) Rural values and social change.
(8) Agriculture.
(9) Health and welfare concerns.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

APPROVED--The 9th day of October, A. D. 2009.
EDWARD G. RENDELL

Administrative Code of 1929 - Omnibus Amendments

Section 311. Center for Rural Pennsylvania. - The Board of Directors under Section 302(A) of the Act of June 30, 1987 (P.L.163, No. 16), known as the "Rural Pennsylvania Revitalization Act," shall include two additional members, one of whom shall be a representative from the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College and one of whom shall be a representative from the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

APPROVED--The 28th day of June, A.D. 2019.
TOM WOLF