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Custody and management of orphan corporate and business records - 15 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 140

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     § 140.  Custody and management of orphan corporate and business
                records.
        (a)  General rule.--Any orphan corporate and business record
     under the custody or control of a county, including the City and
     County of Philadelphia, may become a Commonwealth record in the
     manner provided in this section. The Department of State, with
     the concurrence of the county records committee existing under
     the act of August 14, 1963 (P.L.839, No.407), may provide for
     the transfer on a progressive and phased basis to the custody
     and management of the department of any or all orphan corporate
     and business records. To the extent feasible, such records shall
     be integrated with records of the department relating to the
     same type of matters or transactions.
        (b)  Procedure.--The transfer contemplated by subsection (a)
     shall be effected on a basis consistent with the availability of
     appropriations. It is the intention of this section to encourage
     the department to schedule work under this section on a seasonal
     or otherwise intermittent basis in order to facilitate the
     smoothing of the workload of the department. The department may
     classify orphan corporate and business records for purposes of
     priority of transfer by county of origin, type of matter or
     transaction, vintage of matter or transaction, or on any other
     basis or combination of bases which the department may deem to
     be appropriate. The department shall publish and update in the
     Pennsylvania Code a schedule, by county and type of matter or
     transaction, setting forth where, as between a county and the
     department, custody of all orphan corporate and business records
     then resides.
        (c)  Fictitious name records.--The following statutes
     provided for duplicate filing of fictitious name registrations
     in both the department and in the office of the clerk of the
     court of common pleas or an equivalent row office in a home rule
     charter county:
            (1)  Act of June 28, 1917 (P.L.645, No.227), relating to
        individual fictitious names.
            (2)  Act of May 24, 1945 (P.L.967, No.380), referred to
        as the Fictitious Names Act.
            (3)  Act of July 11, 1957 (P.L.783, No.374), known as the
        Fictitious Corporate Name Act.
     The county records committee may provide for the destruction of
     such duplicate records without transfer to the custody of the
     department.
        (d)  Definition.--As used in this section, the term "orphan
     corporate and business records" means corporate and limited
     partnership filings and recordings which were formerly effected
     in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas or the
     office for the recording of deeds or an equivalent row office in
     a home rule charter county and which are no longer effected in
     such offices by reason of the enactment of:
            (1)  The act of December 19, 1990 (P.L.834, No.198),
        known as the GAA Amendments Act of 1990, with respect to
        insurance corporations, including corporations incorporated
        under or subject to the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682,
        No.284), known as The Insurance Company Law of 1921, or
        incorporated under the acts of: April 28, 1903 (P.L.329,
        No.259); April 20, 1927 (P.L.317, No.190); June 24, 1939
        (P.L.686, No.320); June 20, 1947 (P.L.687, No.298); June 28,
        1951 (P.L.941, No.184); or July 15, 1957 (P.L.929, No.401);
        or any similar act relating to the incorporation or
        reincorporation of limited life insurance companies.
            (2)  The act of December 21, 1988 (P.L.1444, No.177),
        known as the General Association Act of 1988, with respect to
        certain:
                (i)  cooperative corporations incorporated under or
            subject to the act of June 7, 1887 (P.L.365, No.252),
            referred to as the Cooperative Association Act; and
                (ii)  public utility corporations, including
            corporations incorporated under or subject to the act of
            April 4, 1868 (P.L.62, No.29), referred to as the General
            Railroad Law; the act of April 29, 1874 (P.L.73, No.32),
            known as the Corporation Act of 1874; or the act of May
            29, 1885 (P.L.29, No.32), referred to as the Natural Gas
            Company Act of 1885.
            (3)  The act of December 19, 1975 (P.L.524, No.155), with
        respect to certain limited partnerships, including limited
        partnerships formed under the act of April 12, 1917 (P.L.55,
        No.37), known as The Uniform Limited Partnership Act, or the
        act of March 21, 1836 (P.L.143, No.51), referred to as the
        Limited Partnerships Act of 1836.
            (4)  The act of November 15, 1972 (P.L.1063, No.271),
        with respect to nonprofit corporations incorporated under or
        subject to the act of May 5, 1933 (P.L.289, No.105), known as
        the Nonprofit Corporation Law of 1933, including corporations
        of the first class incorporated under or subject to the
        Corporation Act of 1874.
            (5)  Any similar act providing for the central filing in
        the department of a document of a type previously filed or
        recorded solely on a county or other decentralized basis.
     (Dec. 19, 1990, P.L.834, No.198, eff. imd.)

        1990 Amendment.  Act 198 added section 140.
        Cross References.  Section 140 is referred to in sections
     1104, 1311, 5104, 5311, 8519 of this title.

Last modified: November 27, 2007