The Financially Distressed Municipalities Act (Act of 1987, P.L. 246, No. 47), also known as Act 47, is a Pennsylvania statute outlining procedures to stabilize municipalities in Pennsylvania undergoing financial distress. The Act empowers the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to declare certain municipalities as financially distressed. It provides for the restructuring of debt of financially distressed municipalities, limits the ability of financially distressed municipalities to obtain government funding; authorizes municipalities to participate in federal debt adjustment actions and bankruptcy actions under certain circumstances; and provides for consolidation or merger of contiguous municipalities to relieve financial distress.

Most provisions of Act 47 initially remained suspended until the termination of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (Section 708 of Act 1991, June 5, P.L. 9, No 6).

The cities of Erie and Altoona, among others, have narrowly avoided Act 47 designation. Their mayors seek^[when?] legislative changes to the binding arbitration rules of Act 111, as well as a reduction in the designation of tax-exempt properties, to improve their financial health.^[1]