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Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. Taxation and Fiscal Affairs § 1719-E. Department of Community and Economic Development

Current as of January 01, 2026 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) Appropriations.--The following shall apply to appropriations for the Department of Community and Economic Development:

(1) No more than 20% of funds appropriated for grants under the act of May 20, 1949 (P.L. 1633, No. 493),  1 known as the Housing and Redevelopment Assistance Law, shall be allocated to any one political subdivision.

(2) (Reserved).

(a.1) Authorization.--Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 301.2 and 304 of the act of October 6, 1998 (P.L. 705, No. 92),  2 known as the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act, if the Governor, by executive order, had previously designated property as a proposed improvement subzone in a township of the second class located in a county of the second class A, no later than December 31, 2020, a political subdivision may apply to the department for approval of the designation of the previously designated subzone as a Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone.  A Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone designated under this subsection shall conform to the requirements of the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act and shall begin on January 1, 2021, and expire on December 31, 2035.

(a.2) Substitution.--The department may approve a substitution of one or more parcels designated under subsection (a.1) for other parcels to create a new subzone if the new subzone is substantially similar in acreage and is adjacent to the original subzone.  A subzone created under this subsection shall expire on December 31, 2035.  A political subdivision or the political subdivision's designee may submit an application to substitute parcels under this subsection to the department no later than September 1, 2024.  An application under this subsection shall be on a form specified by the department and shall be made to the department in accordance with section 302(a)(1), (2) and (5)  3 of the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act.  The application shall include the consent of the owner of the parcel being removed from the subzone designated under subsection (a.1).  The department shall certify the substitution no later than October 1, 2024.  The substitution shall be deemed effective as of January 1, 2024.

(a.3) Designation.--The Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone And Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act is herein referred to as the “KOZ Act” and each of the three zones mentioned in the name of, and defined in, the KOZ Act is referred to herein as a “zone” or collectively, as “zones”.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the KOZ Act, a business operating anywhere within the external boundaries of the real property resulting from the aggregation of the parcels of land which satisfied, as of May 1, 2025, the parameters set forth in paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4) which business would, if its operations on such real property were occurring completely within a zone, otherwise qualify as a “qualified business” as defined in the KOZ Act, and any owner of any portion of said real property shall, for a time period not to expire until the actual expiration of all of the KOZ Act zone designations of every portion of said real property, be entitled to the same State tax benefits and relief afforded to such parties as if the entire real property were designated as being in zones.  The real property must have:

(1) been located within a city and county of the first class;

(2) been at least 1,200 acres in the aggregate, regardless of being comprised of different real estate tax parcels;

(3) been entirely owned by one entity and/or its affiliates;  and

(4) had over 50% of its acreage designated as a keystone opportunity zone, keystone opportunity expansion zone or keystone opportunity improvement zone.

(b) Expenditures for media advertising.--The provisions of the act of December 20, 2015 (P.L. 497, No. 90),  4 known as the Taxpayer-Funded Advertising Transparency Act, shall not apply to expenditures for media advertising authorized for the Department of Community and Economic Development under section 4 or 5 of the act of May 10, 1939 (P.L. 111, No. 51),  5 known as the Commerce Law.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in addition to the powers granted to an authority under 53 Pa.C.S. § 5607 (relating to purposes and powers), an authority may:

(1) Perform the replacement or remediation of private water laterals and private sewer laterals for customers of the authority if the authority determines that the replacement or remediation will benefit the public health, public water supply system or public sewer system.  No authority that has performed a replacement or remediation shall be deemed to be the owner of a private water lateral or private sewer lateral or be obligated to perform any other duties unless determined necessary by the authority.

(2) Use public funds and utilize authority employees for the replacement or remediation of private water laterals and private sewer laterals if the authority determines that the replacement or remediation will benefit the public health, public water supply system or public sewer system.  Before using public funds the authority shall consider the availability of public funds, equipment, personnel and facilities and the competing demands of the authority for public funds, equipment, personnel and facilities.

(3) Construct and maintain water or sanitary sewer pump stations, public water distribution systems, public sewer collection systems or similar general construction services within the service area of the authority or by contract or agreement with the authority.

(c.1) Additional keystone opportunity expansion zones.--

(1) Subject to the criteria specified in section 1921-D(b) of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L. 6, No. 2),  6 known as the Tax Reform Code of 1971, within a county described in section 1921-D(a)(2) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971, the department may designate additional keystone opportunity expansion zones under Part III of Article XIX-D of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 not to exceed 200 acres, of which an area not exceeding 80 acres shall be situated in a borough of that county with a population of between 315 and 325, based on the 2010 Federal decennial census.

(2) In order to receive a designation under this subsection, the department must receive an application from a political subdivision or its designee no later than October 1, 2025.  The application must contain the information required under section 302(a)(1), (2)(i) and (ix), (5) and (6) of the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act.

(3) The department, in consultation with the Department of Revenue, shall review the application and, if approved, issue a certification of all tax exemptions, deductions, abatements or credits under the Tax Reform Code of 1971 for the zone within three months of receipt of the application.

(4) The department shall act on an application for a designation under section 302(a)(1) of the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act by December 31, 2025.

(5) The department may make designations under section 1921-D of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 and this subsection on a rolling basis during the application period.

(6) If the department does not approve of a designation as an additional keystone opportunity expansion zone of a parcel under this subsection, the department shall hold a public hearing in the municipality for which the application was made within 30 days of the disapproval.  The Secretary of Community and Economic Development, or a designee, shall provide the information described under section 1921-D(e) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 at the public hearing.

(d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Authority.” An authority incorporated under 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 56 (relating to municipal authorities).

“Department.”  The Department of Community and Economic Development of the Commonwealth.

“Private sewer lateral.” A line on a property upon which a building or structure is located that connects to a public sewer system.

“Private water lateral.” A line on a property upon which a building or structure is located that connects to a public water system.

“Subzone.” As defined in the Keystone Opportunity Zone, Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone and Keystone Opportunity Improvement Zone Act.  7

1  35 P.S. § 1661 et seq.
2  73 P.S. § 820.301b and 73 P.S. § 820.304.
3  73 P.S. § 820.302.
4  72 P.S. § 4665.1 et seq.
5  71 P.S. §§ 1709-4, 1709-5.
6  72 P.S. § 8921-D.
7  73 P.S. § 820.101 et seq.
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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. Taxation and Fiscal Affairs § 1719-E. Department of Community and Economic Development - last updated January 01, 2026 | https://codes.findlaw.com/pa/title-72-ps-taxation-and-fiscal-affairs/pa-st-sect-72-1719-e/

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