Borough of Media v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania January 28, 1983

Borough of Media v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 500 Pa. 325 (Pa. 1983)

456 A.2d 540; 1983 Pa. LEXIS 433

Brien, Files, Flaherty, Former, Hutchinson, Larsen, McDermott, Nix, Roberts

Dissenting Opinion

HUTCHINSON, Judge,

dissenting.

I dissent. Without discussion, the majority ignores section 9(C) of the Municipalities Authority Act of 1945, Act of May *3262, 1945 P.L. 382, as amended, 53 P.S. § 311. Section 9(C) provides:

This section, without reference to any other law, shall be deemed complete for the acquisition, by agreement, of projects, as defined in this act. . . any provisions of other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, and no proceedings or other action shall be required except as herein prescribed.

That language and its legislative history show a plain legislative intent to deprive the Public Utilities Commission of jurisdiction over the transfer of utility facilities to a municipal authority. That decision may be unwise. However, in the absence of a constitutional problem, it is within the province of the legislature and not our power to ignore it.

FLAHERTY, J., joins in this dissenting opinion.

Opinion of the Court

ORDER

PER CURIAM:

Order affirmed. 53 Pa.Cmwlth. 535, 419 A.2d 215.

O’BRIEN, former C.J., and McDERMOTT, J., did not participate in the decision of this case. HUTCHINSON, J., files a dissenting opinion in which FLAHERTY, J., joins.

Reference

Full Case Name: BOROUGH OF MEDIA and the Media Municipal Authority v. The PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
Status: Published