At a press conference Wednesday in Minersville, Pennsylvania

 state Sen. David Argall, R-29, and members of the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania unveiled the first copies of "A Quick Guide: New tools for addressing blighted properties," a handbook for borough and township officials.

"There is no such thing as too much information," Argall said. "This guide is an answer to the concerns of local governments, community groups and property owners. We are continuing to work together on other issues that need to be addressed in fighting blight and improving the job climate in our local communities."

Among the tools we have now, the law

• Makes owners who buy property with known code violations abate them within 18 months  (structures) or 12 months (lots).
• Makes multiple code convictions a misdemeanor criminal offense.
• Allows aggressive issuance of citations and increased penalties for code violations that threaten public health, safety or property.
• Allows a court-appointed third party to take control of a blighted property when the owner has died or refuses to act. 
• Allows municipalities to collect costs related to code violations by filing judgments against property owners, not just liens against the properties.
• Clarifies that municipalities may extradite property owners who live outside of Pennsylvania who are subject to municipal ordinance prosecutions.  
• Allows municipalities to enforce their codes by denying permits and licenses to property owners with code violations or tax delinquencies.   
• Reorders the statute that governs use of eminent domain powers and modernizes associated costs.
• Defines abandoned property and adds abandoned properties to those that can be certified as blighted.