(a) General rule.--The official text, as published as provided in Subchapter B of Chapter 7 (relating to publication of documents), of any document required or authorized to be published in the code, the permanent supplements thereto, or the bulletin, shall from the date of such publication be the only valid and enforceable text of such document regardless of any discrepancy between such official text and the agency text of such document. Thereafter any amendment to such document shall be drawn as an amendment to the official text thereof. If an agency discovers a discrepancy between the agency text and the official text of a document, the agency shall forthwith deposit, without regard to the requirements of 2 Pa.C.S. § 301 (relating to notice of proposed rule making) and 2 Pa.C.S. § 302 (relating to adoption of administrative regulations) with the Legislative Reference Bureau an appropriate corrective amendment to the official text, and the agency may specify that defective official text, but only persons who have had actual knowledge of the discrepancy shall be affected by such amendment prior to the publication of the official text thereof in the manner prescribed in this part. The purpose of this section is to permit the public to rely absolutely upon the correctness of the text of a regulation, statement of policy or other document as published in the code, the supplements thereto, or the bulletin by declaring such published text to be the only legal evidence of the valid and enforceable text of such regulation, statement of policy or other document.
(b) Home rule charter documents and optional plans of government.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the text of any home rule charter amendment or repeal or any optional plan of government, as published as provided in Subchapter B of Chapter 7 (relating to publication of documents), shall from the date of such publication be prima facie evidence of the text of the home rule charter, amendment or repeal, or of the plan of government approved by the electors.
Each title or part of the code and each permanent supplement thereto shall contain a certificate by the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau that such title or part or permanent supplement thereto contains all documents required pursuant to section 702 (relating to contents of Pennsylvania Code) to be codified therein officially filed for public inspection prior to the closing date of such permanent supplement, by the government unit or units to which such title or part relates, which certificate shall be conclusive evidence of such fact in the case of documents issued, prescribed or promulgated by an agency. If an agency discovers an omission in such title or part, such omission shall be governed by the provisions of section 901 (relating to official text of published documents).
No otherwise valid document which is required by or pursuant to this part or by any other provision of law to be published under this part, shall be valid as against any person who has not had actual knowledge thereof until such publication has been effected. Publication shall be deemed to have been effected upon the deposit of the bulletin or the permanent supplement to the code containing such document in the United States mail for distribution. The issue date of the bulletin and of the permanent supplement to the code shall be the day of such deposit, and, in the case of the bulletin, such date shall be printed prominently upon the first page of each issue thereof.
Unless otherwise specifically provided by statute other than a provision of this title, the publication under this part of any document required or authorized by this part to be so published shall, except in cases where notice by publication is insufficient in law, be sufficient to give notice of the contents of such document to any person subject thereto or affected thereby.
The publication in the code, the permanent supplements thereto, or the bulletin of any document shall create a rebuttable presumption:
- That it was duly issued, prescribed or promulgated.
- That it was approved as to legality, if so required by 2 Pa.C.S. § 305 (relating to approval as to legality) by the Department of Justice.
- That all requirements of Subchapter A of Chapter 3 of Title 2 (relating to regulations of Commonwealth agencies) and of this part and the regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to such document have been complied with.
The complete Pennsylvania Statutes are not yet available on the web. However, selected portions have been made available and can be accessed by CLICKING HERE. These statutes, though available instantaneously over the web, may not be the current law. Court decisions overturning them, later statutes amending them, and a host of other factors come into play when interpreting them. They are provided here as a resource. They should provide some information about the state of the law. However, a competent lawyer, who from other sources will research the law to insure what is current, should always be employed in matters of importance.