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Penalties - 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 1109

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     § 1109.  Penalties.
        (a)  Restricted activities violation.--Any person who
     violates the provisions of section 1103(a), (b) and (c)
     (relating to restricted activities) commits a felony and shall,
     upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
     $10,000 or to imprisonment for not more than five years, or
     both.
        (b)  Financial interests statement violation.--Any person who
     violates the provisions of section 1103(d) through (j), 1104
     (relating to statement of financial interests required to be
     filed) or 1105(a) (relating to statement of financial interests)
     commits a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced
     to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not
     more than one year, or both.
        (c)  Treble damages.--Any person who obtains financial gain
     from violating any provision of this chapter, in addition to any
     other penalty provided by law, shall pay a sum of money equal to
     three times the amount of the financial gain resulting from such
     violation into the State Treasury or the treasury of the
     political subdivision. Treble damages shall not be assessed
     against a person who acted in good faith reliance on the advice
     of legal counsel.
        (d)  Impeachment and disciplinary action.--The penalties
     prescribed in this chapter do not limit the power of either
     house of the Legislature to discipline its own members or
     impeach a public official and do not limit the power of agencies
     or commissions to discipline officials or employees.
        (e)  Other violations of chapter.--Any person who violates
     the confidentiality of a commission proceeding pursuant to
     section 1108 (relating to investigations by commission) commits
     a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a
     fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more
     than one year, or both. Any person who engages in retaliatory
     activity proscribed by section 1108(j) commits a misdemeanor
     and, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, shall,
     upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than
     $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
     Any person who willfully affirms or swears falsely in regard to
     any material matter before a commission proceeding pursuant to
     section 1108 commits a felony and shall, upon conviction, be
     sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $5,000 or to
     imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.
        (f)  Civil penalty.--In addition to any other civil remedy or
     criminal penalty provided for in this chapter, the commission
     may, after notice has been served in accordance with section
     1107(5) (relating to powers and duties of commission) and upon a
     majority vote of its members, levy a civil penalty upon any
     person subject to this chapter who fails to file a statement of
     financial interests in a timely manner or who files a deficient
     statement of financial interests, at a rate of not more than $25
     for each day such statement remains delinquent or deficient. The
     maximum penalty payable under this paragraph is $250.
        (g)  Reliance on solicitor's opinion.--A public official of a
     political subdivision who acts in good faith reliance on a
     written, nonconfidential opinion of the solicitor of the
     political subdivision or upon an opinion of the solicitor of the
     political subdivision, publicly stated at an open meeting of the
     political subdivision and recorded in the official minutes of
     the meeting, shall not be subject to the penalties provided for
     in subsections (a) and (b) nor for the treble damages provided
     for in subsection (c). However, this subsection shall not apply
     in situations where the solicitor's opinion has been rendered
     under duress or where the parties seeking and rendering the
     solicitor's opinion have colluded to purposefully commit a
     violation of this chapter.

        Cross References.  Section 1109 is referred to in section
     1512 of Title 4 (Amusements).

Last modified: November 27, 2007