E:zF Katz - The Pennsylvania General Assembly

1976. LEGISLATIVE JOURNALHOUSE 5125
an individual who has a problem may have it corrected
and either bill the property owner or take it out of his
rent. Am I correct in that statement? We passed that
about 1973 or 1974, legislation that allows a renter to
do that.
Mr. BENNETT. If the gentleman is making that state-
mcnt, Mr. Speaker, I would agree with it. I would not
argue with that.
Mr. ZELLER. If someone would want to correct mc
on this, pleas? do; otherwise, I believe this holds true.
What I am getting at is this: I think the basic funda-
mental principle, and I should say a basic pride of heing
an American citizen, is the owning of property, and there
is a tremendous responsibility, I realize, for a person who
is a landlord to a tenant. However, I believe what we
arc doin? here is that we are going to throw the baby
out with the wash if wc are going to allow only a few
aburive people to tear up a piece of property with no
responsibility at all, and then the landlord is dead. 1
know and I realize this, and the amcndment is not
helping it.
POINT OF ORDER
The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman
from Mercer, Mr. Bennett. For what purpose does the
gentleman rise?
Mr. BFNNETT. I rise to a point of order.
The SPEAKER. The gentleman will state it.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. Speaker, on my point of order, J
illst raisc a question to the Chair. Is it my understanding
that we are on the amendment or are we on the bill?
T!le SPEAKER. We are on the amendment.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. Speaker, I will attempt to answer
;:ny question I can relative to the amendment, hut the
amendment that we are now debating is purely a tech-
The SPEAKER. Would the gentleman yield for just a
moment?
Does the gentleman, Mr. Freind, have an amendment to
offer?
Mr. FREIND. Yes, I do, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER. The Chair is unable to hear the
gentleman.
Mr. FREIND. Yes, I do have an amendment.
The SPEAKER. Will the gentleman, Mr. ZeUer, yield
for an amendment?
Mr. ZELLER. I will, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER. The Chair thanks the gentleman.
DECISION OF CHAIR RECONSIDERED
The SPEAKER. The Chair reconsiders its decision as
to this hill having been agreed to a third time and recog-
nizes the gentleman, Mr. Freind, who offers the following
amendment which the clerk will read.
Will the gentleman send the amendments to the desk,
and will the gentleman make a copy of that amendment
immediatelv available to Mr. Bennett?
Has this amendment been distributed to the members
of the House?
Mr. FREIND. Yes, it was, Mr. Speaker, about a week
and a half ago.
Mr. BENNETT. With the gentleman's name on it,
Mr. Speaker?
We were aware of an amendment by the gentleman,
Mr Wagner. It is the only one I am aware of.
Thc SPEAKER. Are the members of the House agree-
~hle to this hill now being temporarily passed over until
khe gentleman, Mr. Bennett, has an opportunity to
examine this amendment?
Does the gentleman, Mr. Bennett, desire to have this
bill temporarily passed over?
nical am~ndment and I think the gentleman is going just Mr. BENNETT. Well, Mr. Speaker, if I can just have
a lillle bit too far in the interrogation on the amend- a moment to see the amendment to try to understand
ment. I would be more than happy to stand for inter- what it does.
rogation on the bill.
The SPEAKER. The House will be at ease.
Mr. ZELLER. Mr. Speaker, I understand the amendment
was agreed to and I did not know we were on th? BIL1,S PASSED OVER TEMPORARILY
amendmcnt. I thought the amendment was agreed to for
technical changes. That is all I thought. So if we are The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the majority
on the amendment, I know nothing ahout that. Icadcr.
Mr IRVIS. Mr. Speaker, with the indulgence of the
On the question recurring,
House, I would like to ask that the Chair pass over
Will the House agree to the amendments?
House bill No. 1570 as amended and House bill No. 1571,
Amendments were agreed to.
which is the next hill to be called UD. We will call both
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On the question recurring,
of them up following the noon recess for lunch, and by
Wlll the House agree to the bill as amended on third
that time I hope everyone who has an amendment will
consideration?
have it circulated and everyone who intends to vote on
Bill as ampnded was agreed to.
an amendment will have seen it. Will you declare both
hills over temporarily, please, Mr. Speaker?
The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman The SPEAKER. House bills Nos. 1570 and 1571 will
from Lehigh. Mr. Zeller. be temporarily passed over.
Mr. ZELLER. Thank YOU. . . Mr. Speaker.
I Because the amendment only dealt with a technical QUESTION OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
chanze, it had nothing to do with changing the body to
where I would say this is a good bill. It still is not a good The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman
bill, and I would say that for responsibility in this country. from Allegheny, . Mr. Fisher. For what purpose does the
if we want responsibility, people to he ab!e to he account- gentleman rise?
able, we cannot allow anyone who owns property to be Mr. FISHER. I rise to a cluestion of personal privilege.
nbuqed, and. likewise, the person owning property to The SPEAKER. The wili state it.
abase someone else. But I believe that the amount of Mr FISHER. Mr. Speaker, on House bill No. 1858
people involved here in areas where they have- yesterday I was out of my seat when the vote on final