New legislation may help arm the fighters in their War on Blight.

Senate Bill 1427, County Demolition Funding Program, sponsored by Sen. Dave Argall, R-29: Amends the Record of Deeds Fee Law to enable counties to apply a special deed and mortgage recording fee to be used exclusively for demolition-related purposes. The county must authorize the additional fee, which may not exceed $15, through the governing body. The revenue raised under this act shall be used solely for demolition purposes. If there had been a filing fee in 2013, Schuylkill County would have generated approximately $150,000 to be used toward the county demolition program.Senate Bill 1242, Additional Criminal Penalties, sponsored by Sen. Kim Ward, R-39: Adds criminal penalties for property owners who fail to comply with municipal building codes.Property owners will be subject to a second degree misdemeanor charge, carrying a minimum of 10 days of imprisonment, no less than six months of probation and a fine of $1,000 or greater, if all of the following offenses are committed property owner is convicted of a second serious violation (current law is four) of the same provision of a municipal building code of the same property, the violation is a threat to public safety or health, the property owner has not made a reasonable attempt to correct the violation.Property owners will be subject to a first degree misdemeanor charge, carrying a minimum of 30 days of imprisonment, no less than 12 months of probation and subject to a fine of $3,000 or greater, if all of the following offenses are committed property owner is convicted of a third serious violation (current law is five) of the same provision of a municipal building code of the same property, the violation is a threat to public safety or health, the property owner has not made a reasonable attempt to correct the violation.Senate Bill 1420, Driver's License Suspension, sponsored by Sen. LeAnna Washington, D-4: Amends Title 53 (municipalities) to allow for the suspension of a property owner's Pennsylvania driver's license when the property owner has three serious convictions of property violations within a municipality. Provides guidelines for a municipality to report a serious violation to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation if all of the following criteria are met property owner has been convicted of a serious violation, all appeals on the conviction have been exhausted, the property owner has made no effort to correct the violation, the violation is the third for the property.Senate Bill 1442, Tax Sales Fee, sponsored by Sen. Jim Brewster, D-45: Amends the real estate tax sale law to enable counties to apply a percentage of the sale price of a property sold at a judicial sale or upset sale to be used specifically for demolition and rehabilitation purposes within that county. The county must authorize the additional percentage, which may not exceed ten percent, through the governing body. The revenue raised under this act shall be used solely for demolition and property rehabilitation purposes within the specific county.Senate Bill 1380, State Housing Trust Fund, sponsored by Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47: Provides a dedicated funding source for a statewide Housing Trust Fund (Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund) beginning in fiscal year 2015-16. The Housing Trust Fund would use revenues generated by the Realty Transfer Tax. The baseline of the Realty Transfer Tax would be set on July 31, 2014. Beginning July 31, 2015, the Housing Trust Fund would receive 50 percent of new revenue raised compared to the baseline from the tax, with the remaining 50 percent transferred into the general fund. The Housing Trust Fund would be capped at $25 million.