8 Pa.C.S. § 1403
This is the official text of 8 Pa.C.S. § 1403, part of Pennsylvania’s Pa.C.S — part of the compiled statutory law of Pennsylvania, published by the state as "Pa.C.S." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Evasion of advertising requirements.
Official statutory text
(a) Prohibition.--
(1) No member of council may evade section 1402 (relating to regulation of contracts) as to advertising for bids by purchasing or contracting for services and personal properties piecemeal for the purpose of obtaining prices under the amount specified or adjusted under section 1402(a) upon transactions, which transactions should, in the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as one transaction amounting to more than the amount specified or adjusted under section 1402(a).
(2) This subsection is intended to make unlawful the evading of advertising requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts, each for less than the advertising requirement price, or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts, each below the price, when, in either case, the transactions involved should have been made as one transaction for one price.
(3) Any members of council who vote in violation of this subsection and know that the transaction upon which they vote is or should be a part of a larger transaction and is being divided in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids shall be jointly and severally subject to a surcharge for 10% of the full amount of the contract or purchase.
(4) If it appears that a member of council may have voted in violation of this section, but the purchase or contract on which the member of council voted was not approved by council, this section shall not apply.
(b) Penalty.--Any council member who votes to unlawfully evade the provisions of section 1402 and knows that the transaction upon which the member voted is or should be a part of a larger transaction and is being divided in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids commits a misdemeanor of the third degree for each contract entered into as a direct result of that vote. The penalty under this subsection shall be in addition to a surcharge that may be assessed under subsection (a).
(1) No member of council may evade section 1402 (relating to regulation of contracts) as to advertising for bids by purchasing or contracting for services and personal properties piecemeal for the purpose of obtaining prices under the amount specified or adjusted under section 1402(a) upon transactions, which transactions should, in the exercise of reasonable discretion and prudence, be conducted as one transaction amounting to more than the amount specified or adjusted under section 1402(a).
(2) This subsection is intended to make unlawful the evading of advertising requirements by making a series of purchases or contracts, each for less than the advertising requirement price, or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts, each below the price, when, in either case, the transactions involved should have been made as one transaction for one price.
(3) Any members of council who vote in violation of this subsection and know that the transaction upon which they vote is or should be a part of a larger transaction and is being divided in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids shall be jointly and severally subject to a surcharge for 10% of the full amount of the contract or purchase.
(4) If it appears that a member of council may have voted in violation of this section, but the purchase or contract on which the member of council voted was not approved by council, this section shall not apply.
(b) Penalty.--Any council member who votes to unlawfully evade the provisions of section 1402 and knows that the transaction upon which the member voted is or should be a part of a larger transaction and is being divided in order to evade the requirements as to advertising for bids commits a misdemeanor of the third degree for each contract entered into as a direct result of that vote. The penalty under this subsection shall be in addition to a surcharge that may be assessed under subsection (a).
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Pennsylvania?
Find a Pennsylvania lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.