Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

GENERAL PROVISIONS (TITLE 1)

PART V. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

CHAPTER 19. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION

[Webmaster note: The rules of statutory construction apply to municipal ordinances as well as Commonwealth statutes. See, In re Earned Income Tax Ordinance of City of Wilkes-Barre, 208 Pa. Superior Ct. 424, 222 A.2d 499 (1996).]

Subchapter E. Repealing Statutes.

§ 1971. Implied repeal by later statute.
§ 1972. Nonexistence of reason for statute does not effect repeal.
§ 1973. No implied repeal by nonuser.
§ 1974. Effect of separate repeals on code provisions by same General Assembly.
§ 1975. Effect of repeal on limitations.
§ 1976. Effect of repeal on rights, et cetera.
§ 1977. Repeal does not revive repealed statute.
§ 1978. Repeal as obsolete does not affect substantive rights.

§ 1971. Implied repeal by later statute.

(a) Whenever a statute purports to be a revision of all statutes upon a particular subject, or sets up a general or exclusive system covering the entire subject matter of a former statute and is intended as a substitute for such former statute, such statute shall be construed to supply and therefore to repeal all former statutes upon the same subject.

(b) Whenever a general statute purports to establish a uniform and mandatory system covering a class of subjects, such statute shall be construed to supply and therefore to repeal pre-existing local or special statutes on the same class of subjects.

(c) In all other cases, a later statute shall not be construed to supply or repeal an earlier statute unless the two statutes are irreconcilable.

§ 1972. Nonexistence of reason for statute does not effect repeal.

A statute shall not be deemed repealed because the reason for its passage no longer exists.

§ 1973. No implied repeal by nonuser.

A statute shall not be deemed repealed by failure to use such statute.

§ 1974. Effect of separate repeals on code provisions by same General Assembly.

Whenever a statute repeals any provision of another statute incorporated into a code adopted by the same General Assembly, the statute repealing the provision so incorporated into the code shall be construed to effect a repeal of the corresponding provision of the code.

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.

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