Judiciary 2015-2016
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Monday, September 26, 2016 and reported the following out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 1365 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to add common pleas court judgeships to certain judicial districts.
House Bill 74 (Kauffman):Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to change the grading of the offense of endangering the welfare of a child in certain circumstances
House Bill 185 (Jozwiak): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to change the grading of the offense of dealing in infant children.
House Bill 1070 (Costa): Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to enhance the collection of restitution, fees, costs, fines, and penalties
House Bill 1476 (Boback): Establishes the Counterfeit Airbag Prevention Act and prohibits certain conduct relating to counterfeit airbags in vehicles
House Bill 1974 (Longietti) Amends Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) to increase the permitted amount of a decedent’s wages that may be paid by an employer to the decedent’s family
House Bill 2084 (Snyder): Amends Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) to require the Department of Corrections to issue pepper spray to certain officers and employees
As Amended
Senate Bill 869 (Folmer): Amends Title 4 (Amusements), Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses), Title 30 (Fish), Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure), and Title 75 (Vehicles) to address the seizure and forfeiture of property that is related to criminal offenses
Senate Bill 1323 (Argall): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to prohibit the operation of unmanned aircraft in certain locations
House Bill 1398 (Harris): Amends Title 15 (Corporations and Unincorporated Associations) and Title 54 (Names) to replace the law governing limited liability partnerships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability companies, as well as to make conforming changes regarding the names of business associations
House Bill 1496 (Stephens): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to address the possession of a firearm during the commission of an offense.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, August 30, 2016 and reported the following unanimously from committee.
Executive Nominations
Bruce R. Beemer, Attorney General of Pennsylvania
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Monday, July 11, 2016 and reported the following bill from committee:
As Committed
House Bill 1948 (Rapp): Amends the Abortion Control Act in Title 18 (Crimes Code) regarding abortion regulations, including changing the upper limit of when an elective abortion is available and prohibiting the practice of dismemberment abortions.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Monday, June 27, 2016 and reported the following bills out of committee.
As Committed
House Bill 773 (Masser): Amends the Judicial Code (Title 42) by adding a section providing for acquisition of title to real property by adverse possession in 10 years.
As Amended
House Bill 34 (Nesbit): Repeals Subchapter A of Chapter 73 of the Judicial Code (PA Uniform Arbitration Act) and replaces it with Subsection A.1, (Revised Uniform Arbitration Act).
House Bill 1118 (Vereb): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for conflicts of interest; and repealing and adding provisions relating to independent counsel.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Wednesday, June 22, 2016 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 1311 (Vance): Amends Title 23 (Domestic Relations) and Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) to address grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights, definitions pertinent to child protective services, and definitions pertinent to juvenile matters
House Bill 123 (Delozier): Amends Title 42 (Judicial Code) to further provide for the retention and allocation of bail monies.
House Bill 869 (Bizzarro): Amends Title 18 (Crimes Code) §5511 (regarding cruelty to animals).
House Bill 1581 (Corbin): Amends Title 18 (Crimes Code) regarding strangulation.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee met June 7, 2016 and reported the following out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 1113 (Ward) Amends the Crime Victims Act) to expand and clarify the membership of the Victims’ Services Advisory Committee within the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
Senate Bill 1261 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 42 related post conviction relief for wrongly convicted individuals.
Senate Bill 1271 (Browne): Amends Title 42 related to school stability for children in shelter care.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, May 10, 2016 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 428 (Ward): Amends Title 18 in burglary and other criminal intrusion, further providing for the offense of criminal trespass.
Senate Bill 1112 (Argall): Amends Title 61 in preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions; and, in general administration relating to correctional institutions, providing for salary of corrections managers.
As Amended
Senate Bill 1160 (Alloway): Amends Title 18 and Title 44 in firearms and other dangerous articles, further providing for licenses and for licensing of dealers; and providing for sheriffs and deputy sheriffs.
Senate Bill 1197 (Wagner): Amends Title 18 in dissemination of criminal history record information, further providing for general regulations and for order for limited access, providing for clean slate for convictions of misdemeanors and summary offenses, for charges not leading to convictions and for records of juvenile delinquency and for effects of expunged offenses and offenses provided limited access and further providing for use of records by licensing agencies.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Monday, April 11, 2016 and reported the following from committee:
As Amended
Senate Bill 180 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to update and revise the law relating to organ and tissue donations.
Senate Bill 1062 (Rafferty): Amends Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in burglary and other criminal intrusions, further providing for burglary; and, in sentencing, providing for sentencing for burglary.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, April 5, 2016 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
Senate Resolution 263 (Argall): This resolution will direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study of staffing levels and mandatory overtime within the Department of Corrections.
Senate Bill 1077 (Vogel): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to allow school boards to make the required notification about recording on school buses by means other than the U.S. Mail.
House Bill 380 (Toohil): Amends Title 23 (Domestic Relations) to reduce the waiting period for a no-fault divorce.
House Bill 608 (Baker): Amends the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act.
House Bill 1167 (Barbin): Amends the Crime Victims Act to require the Department of Revenue to deduct from a tax refund any money owed by the taxpayer for restitution, fines, or costs.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, March 22, 2016 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 1144 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 18 to prohibit sales to minors of over the counter medicines containing dextromethorphan.
House Bill 12 (Schlossberg): Amends Title 23 to provide grounds for divorce upon mutual consent when one spouse is convicted of a personal injury offense against the other spouse and precludes a court from requiring marital counseling when one spouse has a Protection From Abuse defendant by the other spouse.
As Amended
House Bill 215 (Gingrich): Amends Title 18 to expand the offense of neglect of a care-dependent person and to provide for the offense of abuse of a care-dependent person.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, March 15, 2016 and reported the following from committee:
As Amended
Senate Bill 579 (Greenleaf): This bill consolidates several statutes into Title 44 (Law and Justice) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Title 44 will be known as the Law and Justice Code. Several other titles are amended for the purpose of updating references relating to provisions added to Title 44.
Senate Bill 1031 (Gordner): This bill amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to re-authorize the Independent Counsel.
As Committed
House Bill 665 (M. Keller): This bill amends Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) and Title 57 (Notaries Public) to correct provisions of Act 95 of 2014 relating to commercial powers of attorney. The bill also eliminates conflicts between provisions in the Notary Law and provisions governing commercial powers of attorney.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, January 19, 2016 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 568 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, relating to guardianships.
Senate Bill 1056 (Baker): Amends Titles 23 (Domestic Relations) and 51 (Military Affairs) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, enacting the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act; making related repeals; and making editorial changes.
Senate Bill 1104 (Greenleaf): Amends to the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code (Probate Code), Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, including the consolidation of the Charitable Instruments Act of 1971 into the Probate Code.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Wednesday, December 09, 2015 and reported the following bill out of committee:
As Amended
House Bill 1691 (Marsico): The bill amends Title 23 to require that a county children and youth agency (“county agency”) shall report to law enforcement as soon as is practicable but in no event longer than 24 hours after receiving information about a child who: the county agency has reasonable cause to suspect of being at risk of sex trafficking; or the county agency identifies as being a victim of sex trafficking.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, November 17, 2015 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 917 (Browne): Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure), adding a section related to interagency information sharing for cases involving children determined to be at risk of child abuse, parental neglect or initial or additional delinquent behavior.
Senate Bill 936 (Browne): Amends Title 23 (Domestic Relations) related to the automatic wage deduction for the payment of child support.
As Amended
Senate Bill 986 (Pileggi): Provides immunity from civil liability or damages for any individual who has a reasonable, good faith belief that forcible entry into a locked motor vehicle is necessary to prevent harm to a minor.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, October 27, 2015 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 851 (Greenleaf): Amends Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and Judiciary Procedure) to establish the Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Children Fund and amend sentencing for minors accused of certain crimes. The bill was reported as committed unanimously.
As Amended
Senate Bill 518 (Pileggi): Amends Title 20 (Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries) to provide for access to a decedent’s electronic communications and digital assets by an appointed fiduciary (including a personal representative of an estate, an agent or a trustee). Senator Pileggi offered Amendment A03387, which gutted and replaced the bill with the creation of the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
Senate Bill 976 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to allow recording of interviews and interrogations in designated areas in police facilities. Senator Greenleaf offered Amendment A03387, which extends the law to allow for in residence recording and length of preservation of recording. The amendment and the bill as amended were reported unanimously.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, July 14, 2015 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 126 (Boscola): Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in sentencing, providing for lottery winnings intercept.
Senate Bill 127 (Boscola): Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in sentencing, providing for State income tax intercept.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, June 30, 2015 and reported the following out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 606 (McGarrigle): Amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for limited liability for pilots and apprentices
Senate Bill 773 (Kitchen): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in minors, further providing for definitions
Senate Bill 859 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) to consolidate the Department of Corrections and the Board of Probation and Parole into a single agency called the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Senate Bill 860 (Greenleaf): Amends The Crime Victims Act to make technical changes related to the consolidation of the Department of Corrections and the Board of Probation and Parole into a single agency called the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
As Amended
House Bill 874 (Marsico): Amends Title 18 regarding harassment, stalking and threat to use weapons of mass destruction, in order to remove special exemptions for a party engaged in an organized labor dispute.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met June 23, 2015 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
House Bill 272 (Neuman): Amends the Sexual Assault Testing and Evidence Collection Act to require a more comprehensive process for the testing of evidence collected pursuant to a sexual assault.
As Amended
Senate Bill 296 (Hughes): Amends Titles 18 and 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in falsification and intimidation, further providing for false alarms to agencies of public safety; and, in sentencing, providing for sentencing for offenses involving false alarms to agencies of public safety.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, June 16, 2015 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
House Bill 73 (Farry): Amends Title 42, in sentencing, further providing for counseling of sexually violent predators.
House Bill 164 (Stephens): Amends Title 18, in riot, disorderly conduct and related offenses, further providing for the offense of cruelty to animals.
House Bill 229 (Marsico): Amends Title 18, in assault, further providing for the offense of harassment.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met June 2, 2015 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 751 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 18, in minors, further providing for the offense of sale of tobacco.
As Amended
Senate Bill 430 (Hughes): Amends Title 61 to expand access to the Commonwealth’s Statewide Intermediate Punishment (SIP) Program to individuals who have committed crimes due to gambling addiction
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, April 21, 2015 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
SB 264 (Alloway): Amends Title 12 (Commerce and Trade) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes to prohibit the sale of shark fins.
SB 594 (Dinniman): Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the offense of cruelty to animals.
As Amended
SB 524 (Scarnati): Amends Title 61, establishing the Non-narcotic Medication Assisted Substance Abuse Treatment Grant Program; and, imposing powers and duties on the Department of Corrections.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met April 14, 2015 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 163 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 23 (Domestic Relations), 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure), and 44 (Law and Justice) to address the needs of children of incarcerated parents and services available to them. 14-0
Senate Bill 202 (Schwank): Amends the Uniform Crime Reporting Act, to require institutions of higher learning to report the number of sexual assaults that occur on campus and to provide certain information to students and victims. 14-0
Senate Bill 533 (Eichelberger): Amends Title 42 further providing for supervisory relationship to offenders. 14-0
Senate Bill 683 (Pileggi): Amends Title 44 (Law and Justice) to address the collection and testing of DNA evidence by police. 13-1
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, March 03, 2015 and reported the following bills from committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 485 (Scarnati): Amends Title 18 providing for the offense of impersonating a notary public or a holder of a professional or occupational license
Senate Bill 525 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 61 establishing the Prison Industry Enhancement Authority
House Bill 221 (Caltagirone): Amends the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Act and the Judicial Code in order to provide that municipal police officers and magisterial district judges receive training regarding persons with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and autism.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Tuesday, February 17, 2015 and reported the following bills from committee:
Según lo comprometido
Senate Bill 43 (Williams): Amends Title 18 providing for wearing of uniforms and insignia.
Senate Bill 130 (Gordner): Amends Title 42 providing for sentence of community service
Senate Bill 427 (Grennleaf): Amends the Precious Metal Sale Regulation Law providing for dealer’s retention of precious metal and availability.
House Bill 89 (Harper): Amends Title 42 providing for automatic retirement age.
House Bill 90 (Harper): Joint Resolution proposing an Amendment to the PA Constitution providing for compensation and retirement of justices, judges, and justices of the peace.
The Senate Judiciary Committee met Thursday, January 22, 2015 and reported the following bills out of committee:
As Committed
Senate Bill 161 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 42 providing for certain immunity for hospitals that donate medicine, medical supplies and equipment in good faith for humanitarian assistance.
Senate Bill 166 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 18 providing for expungement of criminal history record.
Senate Bill 180 (Greenleaf): Amends the Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, Title 20 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, to update and revise the law relating to organ and tissue donations.
Senate Bill 210 (Greenleaf): Amends Title 42 providing for exemptions from jury duty.
Senate Bill 283 (Pileggi): Joint Resolution proposing integrated amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, eliminating the Traffic Court of Philadelphia.
Senate Bill 301 (Greenleaf): Consolidates various statutes into Title 2 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Title 2 will be known as the Administrative Procedure Code.
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