Bills and Resolutions Reported from the Senate Judiciary Committee

2/13/07

Senate Bill 73:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to consolidate under Title 61 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, the acts relating to prisons, probation and parole and rename Title 61 as the “Prisons and Parole Code”.

Senate Bill 116:  Senator Costa’s legislation to establish a statewide jury information system to assist counties in expanding their pool of individuals from which jurors may be chosen.

Senate Bill 150:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to enact the Sexual Violence Victim Protection Act, authorizing a victim of sexual assault to petition the court requesting protection from the defendant.

Senate Bill 151:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to clarify the provisions prohibiting contraband such as weapons, implements of escape, and other dangerous materials, in correctional institutions, youth development centers and mental hospitals.

Senate Bill 397:  Senator Regola’s legislation to establish a booking center fee and to provide for a countywide booking center plan.

Senate Resolution 9:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation directing the Joint State Government Commission to study the issue of violent crime, to review proposals that address the issue of violent crime, and to report to the Senate with its findings and recommendations.

3/13/07

Senate Bill 72:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to lower the continuing education requirement to 20 hours for retired doctors who volunteer at free medical clinics. 

3/20/07

Senate Bill 256:  Senator Browne’s legislation amending the Judicial Code section relating to the right to bail, to make the section consistent with Article I, Section 14, of the Constitution of Pennsylvania.

Senate Bill 306:  Senator Rafferty’s legislation providing immunity from prosecution for underage drinking when the person calls 911 because someone else needs medical attention.

Senate Bill 356:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to extend the sunset date for the senior judge operational support grant program to June 30, 2012.

Senate Bill 542:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation establishing a grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for law enforcement drug and violence task forces.

3/27/07

Senate Bill 121:  Senator Costa’s legislation to clarify the definition of burglary. 

Senate Bill 183:  Senator Pippy’s legislation creating a third degree felony to impersonate a law enforcement officer and a misdemeanor of the third degree to impersonate an active member of the armed forces or a veteran.

Senate Bill 432:  Senator Gordner’s legislation to amend The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act to add offenses for operating a methamphetamine laboratory and illegal dumping of methamphetamine waste.

Senate Bill 433:  Senator Gordner’s legislation amending The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, to require a person who is convicted of operating a methamphetamine laboratory, or using a precursor substance to manufacture methamphetamine, to reimburse the appropriate law enforcement agency for the costs of cleaning up the environmental hazards associated with the operation of the laboratory or the use of the precursor substance in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Senate Bill 434:  Senator Gordner’s legislation amending The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, to make it a specific violation of the act to knowingly possess ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.

Senate Bill 436:  Senator Gordner’s legislation making it a crime to operate a methamphetamine laboratory if the person knowingly causes a chemical reaction involving ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine or preparing a precursor substance for the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Senate Bill 623:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to clarify the powers of corrections officers when there has been an escape from a correctional institution.

Senate Bill 625:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to amend the Criminal Records and Fingerprinting Act, to establish a system for the notification of law enforcement when there has been an escape from a correctional institution, and clarifying provisions relating to the identification of prisoners.

Senate Resolution 42:  Senator Browne’s legislation directing the Joint State Government Commission to study the current system for providing services to indigent criminal defendants, to review how other states provide these services, and to make recommendations to the Senate.

4/24/07

Senate Bill 34:  Senator Connie Williams’ legislation to protect the rights of mothers to nurse their children in public.

Senate Bill 331:  Senator Waugh’s legislation creating a second degree felony to take or remove money from a financial institution without permission by making a demand of an employee orally or in writing with the intent to deprive the financial institution of the money.

Senate Bill 450:  Senator Rafferty’s legislation adding the offense of “criminal homicide of a law enforcement officer” and “violence against a law enforcement officer.”

Senate Bill 699:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to further define witness unavailability for the purpose of the tender years hearsay exception.

5/8/07

Senate Bill 221:  Senator Stack’s legislation to provide members of the United States Armed Forces or the Pennsylvania National Guard on federal active duty a 90-day extension of their license to carry a firearm if they are deployed overseas and the permit expires while they are deployed overseas.

Senate Bill 595:  Senator Orie’s legislation to establish a program to investigate domestic violence-related fatalities and to identify gaps in systematic responses to domestic violence.

Senate Bill 632:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to complete the codification of the Nonprofit Corporation Law, add the Uniform Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act, and revise the laws relating to limited liability partnerships and limited liability companies.

Senate Bill 831:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to exempt from state jury duty judges and magisterial district judges of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and judges of the United States.

House Bill 688:  Representative Costa’s legislation to release from jury duty persons 70 or older who opt not to serve.

6/19/07

Senate Bill 482:  Senator Browne’s legislation to provide for a district attorney justice fee.

Senate Bill 860:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to enact the Public Service Lawyers Loan Repayment Assistance Act, establishing a student loan repayment assistance program for qualified applicants.

Senate Bill 861:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to add additional judges to the county courts of common pleas.

Senate Resolution 135:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation directing the Joint State Government Commission to establish a task force and advisory committee to study the distribution and use of methadone, including the diversion of methadone from its proper and legal uses, and to make a report to the Senate including recommendations for changes in state law and regulations. 

6/26/07

House Bill 10:  Representative Dennis O’Brien’s legislation to establish the Criminal Justice Enhancement Account.  The money in the account will come from an assessment on criminal defendants for costs of prosecution and from fines imposed for certain offenses, and will be used to pay for full-time district attorneys.

9/19/07

Senate Bill 117:  Senator Costa’s legislation to expand the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission role to provide assistance on dependency as well as delinquency issues.

Senate Bill 615:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to enact the Bail Bond Enforcement Agent Law, providing for the licensing of bounty hunters.

Senate Bill 490:  Senator Browne’s legislation to require sex offenders to register their online identity. 

Senate Bill 1027:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation establishing a procedure by which the Department of Corrections may identify an offender, upon intake and evaluation, as someone who would have been otherwise eligible for and benefited from the state intermediate punishment program, a drug treatment program.

House Bill 27:  Representative Parker’s legislation establishing a witness protection program in the Office of Attorney General.

10/2/07

Senate Bill 366:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to clarify how companion animals (pets, therapy, or service animals) are to be treated in divorce cases.

Senate Bill 751:  Senator Mary Jo White’s legislation providing a procedure so that a sentence of death shall not be imposed upon any person who establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that he is a person with mental retardation. 

House Bill 642:  Representative Walko’s legislation to broaden the offense of neglect of a care-dependent person so that it applies to private care residences. 

House Bill 1152:  Representative Gibbon’s amendment to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), Title 13 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, to extensively revise Division 1 (General Provisions) and Division 7 (Warehouse Receipts, Bills of Lading and Other Documents of Title) and to make conforming amendments.

10/23/07 

Senate Bill 1013:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to increase the monetary limits of parental liability for the tortious acts of their children.

Senate Bill 1136:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to amend Megan’s Law to (1) Restrict where a sexually violent predator may live; (2) Provide the district attorney of the county that is to receive a sexually violent predator the opportunity to address the parole board before the offender is released from prison; and (3) Require a sexually violent offender to register at the time of sentencing (when the offender arrives at prison) instead of at the time of release. 

11/20/07

Senate Bill 232:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation amending the Criminal History Record Information Act to permit the expungement of certain criminal conviction data.

Senate Bill 1125:  Senator Orie’s legislation to add an offense for the unauthorized use of a deceased soldier’s name, portrait or picture.

Senate Bill 1129:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation amending the Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Act, expanding the list of qualified individuals who are authorized to perform drug and alcohol assessments for the commitment of minors to involuntary drug and alcohol treatment services.

Senate Bill 1147:  Senator Washington’s legislation amending the Child Protective Services Law making a number of changes relating to background checks.

Senate Bill 1153:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation to bring the independent Minor Judiciary Education Board (MJEB) under the umbrella of the Unified Judicial System.

Senate Bill 1156:  Senator Folmer’s legislation providing a child’s foster parent, pre-adoptive parent or relative who is providing care for the child the right to be heard at any hearing and, in the case of a permanency hearing, requires the court to provide for consultation with the child regarding the child’s permanency plan.

House Bill 296:  Representative Stevenson’s legislation to set the service charge that may be imposed by the payee for a bad check at a maximum of $50 and permitting nonprofit credit counseling agencies to charge fees.

House Bill 1235:  Representative White’s legislation increasing the penalty for impersonating a “public servant” from a misdemeanor of the second degree to a felony of third degree when the public servant is a police officer, allowing a consumer to record a call from a debt collector without the permission of the debt collector, and revising the procedure for an individual to appeal who is denied the right to purchase a firearm because of a criminal background check. 

12/10/07

Senate Bill 584:  Senator Orie’s legislation to provide for problem solving courts.

Senate Bill 1045:  Senator Kitchen’s legislation making omnibus changes to the criminal justice provisions with the primary purpose of addressing prison population growth concerns.

Senate Bill 1128:  Senator Greenleaf’s legislation establishing a grant program to assist counties in diverting from the criminal justice system individuals with mental health problems.

Senate Bill 1206:  Senator Costa’s legislation to provide for the temporary transfer of inmates between correctional facilities.

Senate Bill 1207:  Senator Costa’s legislation amending the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole Law making a number of changes to the powers and duties of the parole board.

House Bill 1961:  Representative Bennington’s legislation making a number of changes relating to background checks.

3/18/08 

House Bill 306 (Rep. Belfanti) Provides that all appeals from the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) under the Public Employe Relations Act (PERA) (1970 Act 195) be made to the Commonwealth Court. 

Senate Bill 1269 (Sen. Greenleaf) Protects juveniles from self-incrimination when they undergo screening or assessment within the juvenile justice system. 

House Bill 675 (Rep. Petrarca) Prohibits the dumping of methamphetamine waste. 

Senate Bill 1278 (Sen. Greenleaf) Amends the Domestic Relations Code to make a number of changes in the child support enforcement law. 

5/13/08 

House Bill 958 (Rep. Cruz) Allows a person who does not have the financial means to pay any fine and costs, to instead perform community service. 

House Bill 7 (Rep. Caltagirone) The Compassionate Release Act, relating to the transfer of certain prisoners who are seriously or terminally ill by authorizing their placement in a medical facility outside of the correctional institution.  

House Bill 5 (Rep. Marsico) Provide for the temporary transfer of inmates between correctional facilities. 

House Bill 1511 (Rep. Shimkus) To authorize a child's foster parent, preadoptive parent or relative who is providing care for the child to submit to the court a report about the child's adjustment, progress and condition. 

House Bill 6 (Rep. Manderino) Amends the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole Law, making a number of changes to the powers and duties of the parole board.  

House Bill 4 (Rep. D. O'Brien) To address prison population growth concerns. 

6/10/08 

House Bill 1845 (Rep. Sabatina) Amends the Crimes Code, Title 18, and the Judicial Code, Title 42, of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, with a number of provisions relating to firearms. 

Senate Bill 1284 (Sen. Dinniman) Requires a magisterial district judge to provide written notice to an educational institution when a college student attending the institution has been convicted of a crime. 

Senate Bill 1263 (Sen. Rafferty) Extends until December 31, 2013 the sunset date of the Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control. 

9/17/08 

House Bill 2548 (Re. R. Taylor) Gives the Commission on Crime and Delinquency the power and duty to create and coordinate a grant program for distributing funds to any Pennsylvania-based, nonprofit corporation that accredits law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania. 

Senate Resolution 367 (Sen. Kitchen) Directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study the statewide complement of probation and parole officers. 

Senate Bill 1555 (Sen. Piccola) Restricts disclosure of electronic communication customer or subscriber records to persons other than an investigative or law enforcement officer. 

House Bill 2343 (Rep. Costa) Allows a former judge to solemnize marriages.

House Bill 1664 (Rep. Caltagirone) Relating to the theft of leased property, requiring that the owner of the property send the written demand to return the leased property by first class mail, evidenced by a certificate of mailing, and by registered or certified mail to the address provided by lessee. 

House Bill 1027 (Rep. Moul) Amends the Domestic Relations Code to increase the penalty for willful failure to comply with a support order. 

House Bill 301 (Rep. Mundy) Amends the Judicial Code relating to subpoenas.  When a witness who is under 18 years of age is subpoenaed, a copy of the subpoena shall be issued to the parent, guardian or other custodian of the witness.  The bill also makes changes to the registration requirements of Megan's Law. 

Senate Resolution 245 (Sen. Orie) Directs the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to prepare a report on the existence of secondary effects that may result from sexually oriented adult businesses. 

Senate Bill 1440 (Sen. O'Pake) Providing for the right of a jury to receive written instructions. 

9/24/08 

House Bill 1147 (Rep. Longietti) Amends the Motor Vehicle Chop Shop and Illegally Obtained and Altered Property Act, 1998 Act 110, to specify that the law applies to motor vehicles illegally obtained by theft, fraud, or conspiracy to defraud. 

10/06/08 

House Bill 1543 (Rep. Solobay) Permits the expungement of summary offenses.
 

Hearing and Presentations Before the Senate Judiciary Committee

1/22/07 - Public hearing on stopping the flow of illegal drugs into Pennsylvania communities

3/13/07 - Confirmation hearing on the nomination of Jeffrey Beard, Ph.D. as Secretary of Corrections 

3/20/07 - Confirmation hearings on the nominations of The Honorable James Fitzgerald, as Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and Robert Daniels, Esquire, as Judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania

4/23/07 - Joint public hearing of the Senate and House judiciary committees to discuss the recommendations of the Commission on Safety & Abuse in America’s Prisons

5/21/07 - Public hearing on the expungement of criminal records (Senate Bill 232) and the use of criminal records for employment (Senate Bill 1060 of the 2005-2006 session) 

6/4/07 - Joint public hearing of the Senate and House judiciary committees to hear a presentation from the Council of State Governments Justice Center on corrections issues

6/19/07 - Confirmation hearings on the nominations of Charles J. Fox, Lloyd A. White and Judith E. Viglione, as members of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, and Carol L. Lavery, as Victim Advocate

6/26/07 - Confirmation hearings on the nominations of John E. Wetzel, as a member of the Board of Pardons, Cathleen Bubash, Esquire, and Michael E. McCarthy, Esquire, as Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Maria Dantos, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County, Alice Beck Dubow, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, and Patrick Dugan, as Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court 

6/30/07 - Confirmation hearing on the nomination of Daniel J. Anders, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County 

10/23/07 - Confirmation hearings on the nominations of Raymond L. Hamill, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Wayne County, and Joseph J. O’Neill, as Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court

11/19/07 - Public hearing on the benefits of behavior health and drug treatment courts

12/04/07 - Public hearing on Senate Bill 1045 and prison reform

3/17/08 -  Public hearing on Senate Bill 1250 (proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage) 

4/10/08 -  Public hearing on Senate Bill 1250 (proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage) (Pittsburgh) 

6/27/08 -  Confirmation hearings on the nominations of The Honorable Jane Cutler Greenspan, as Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, The Honorable John M. Cleland and The Honorable Robert A. Freedberg, as Judges of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, and Johnny J. Butler, Esquire, as Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania  

9/12/08 -  Public hearing on funding county probation and parole services (Philadelphia)  

9/16/08  - Public hearing on merit selection: Senate Bills 1324 and 1325  

9/22/08 -  Public hearing on juvenile lifers  

10/6/08  - Confirmation hearings on the nominations of Joseph K. Williams, III, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County; Maureen T. Beirne, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County; Wallace H. Bateman, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County; and Joseph J. Musto, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County  

10/7/08  - Confirmation hearings on the nominations of Judith Ference Olson, Esquire, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County; the Honorable Leonard N. Zito, as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Northampton County; Joyce Eubanks, Esquire, and Angeles Roca, Esquire, as Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County