Opinion

Brownsville General Hospital v. Commonwealth

  • 15 Pa. Commw. 428
  • 325 A.2d 662
  • 88 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2235
  • 1974 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 753
Court
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Filed
Oct 1, 1974
Status
Published
Author
Mencer
On the bench
Blatt, Bowman, Cbumlish, Crumlish, Kramer, Mencer, Reargued, Rogers, Wilkinson
Cited by
6 cases

The opinion

Dissenting Opinion by

Judge Mencer :

I respectfully dissent. Section 301(1) of the Public Employe Relations Act, Act of July 23, 1970, P. L. 563, 43 P.S. §1101.301(1) defines “public employer” as, inter alia, “any nonprofit organization or institution.” These are clear, unequivocal, and unambiguous words. The Brownsville General Hospital stipulated that it is a nonprofit corporation. Accordingly, I would find that it comes within the Section 301(1) definition of “public employer.”

The majority states that to adopt such a construction “would necessitate reaching what we believe to be the unintended result of encompassing many private employers who have chosen the nonprofit form of conducting their business and who receive no governmental support.” I do not believe that we can interpret clear and unambiguous words of the Legislature in terms of “what we believe to be the unintended result.” If the Legislature did not intend what it so explicitly stated, it is *440 free to make a change by amendment. I would prefer to believe that the Legislature meant what it said and, therefore, would affirm.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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