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 * Politics & Policy
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NEW PENNSYLVANIA LAWS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FOR 2024

THE NEW LAWS COVER A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS INCLUDING WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE, FOOD
SAFETY, CYBERSECURITY, RELIGIOUS GARB IN SCHOOLS, VOTER REGISTRATION, AND DOG
LICENSES.

   By
 * 6abc digital staff
   December 28, 2023

The dome of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. (Commonwealth Media
Services)

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

A number of bills have been signed into law in recent months that are either in
effect ahead of the New Year or will be shortly after 2024 begins in
Pennsylvania.

The new laws cover a wide range of topics including probation reform, women’s
health care, food safety, cybersecurity, religious garb in schools, voter
registration and dog licenses.

Here’s what you need to know:


CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY


PROBATION REFORM

Gov. Shapiro signed what he calls ‘landmark probation reform and clean slate
legislation’ that “will create more fairness in Pennsylvania’s criminal justice
system, ensure probation serves as a tool to help Pennsylvanians re-enter their
communities and pave the way for more Pennsylvanians to get second chances.”

   
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Read more at legis.state.pa.us


‘PORCH PIRATING’ A FELONY

A new law in Pennsylvania makes porch pirating a felony. There are now specific
penalties for mail theft, including the theft of a package, bag or letter.

The new law focuses on repeat offenders and uses a grading system to increase
penalties if the thief had prior mail theft convictions.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


RETAIL THEFT CRACKDOWN

A new law establishes a Deputy Attorney General within the Attorney General’s
Office whose job it will be to oversee a team of prosecutors who will be
geographically placed throughout Pennsylvania to prosecute retail theft.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


LOWER FITNESS REQUIREMENTS FOR PROSPECTIVE POLICE OFFICERS

A new law will lower the fitness requirements for prospective police officers.
Currently, police academy applicants are required to score no lower than the
30th percentile in evaluations that include long- and short-distance runs, bench
presses, and sit-ups. The new law reduces these requirements so that an
applicant only has to score in at least the 15th percentile for these
evaluations.

However, applicants would still be required to score no lower than the 30th
percentile in order to be employed as a police officer.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


POLICE APPLICANT FINGERPRINT CHECKS

This new law gives the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training
Commission (MPOETC) the statutory authority needed to conduct fingerprint-based
criminal history checks for municipal police officer applicants.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


TREATMENT OF INCARCERATED WOMEN

A new law covers a number of issues unique to women who are incarcerated. It
includes a prohibition on shackling of pregnant women, a prohibition on the
solitary confinement of pregnant women and full-body searches of female inmates
by male guards.

It allows for three days of bonding time between incarcerated mothers and
newborn children, ‘adequate’ visitation time between minor children and inmates
(male or female) who were the sole legal guardians of those children at the time
of arrest, feminine hygiene products at no cost, and limited coverage of cost to
transport individuals to a safe location upon release.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


RENEWING AND EXPANDING AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS

A new law eliminates the Feb. 2024 expiration date for the Automated Work Zone
Speed Enforcement (AWZSE) program and the December 2023 expiration date for the
Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) program on Roosevelt Boulevard in
Philadelphia.

It expands the ASE program to all roads in Philadelphia, contingent on PennDOT’s
approval and the city’s adoption of a local ordinance, and makes necessary
improvements to both the AWZSE and ASE programs.

It also fixes to current law authorizing school districts to use automated
school bus stop-arm cameras and establishing a five-year pilot program for speed
cameras in active school zones in Philadelphia.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


SCHOOL BUS SAFETY

Updates rules for automated enforcement for drivers who fail to stop for school
buses with flashing red lights.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


INSURANCE DATA SECURITY

Under this new law, insurance entities would have to conduct a cybersecurity
risk assessment, develop cybersecurity protocols, and report breaches to the
Pennsylvania Insurance Department.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


HEALTH


FENTANYL TESTING IN HOSPITALS

A new law requires general acute care hospitals to include testing for fentanyl
in a urine drug screening if the hospital conducts a urine drug screening to
assist in diagnosing the patient’s condition.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


ENHANCED COVERAGE FOR BREAST CANCER SCREENINGS

This new law will require insurers to cover preventive breast and ovarian cancer
screenings for high-risk women at no cost. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said the
law removes out-of-pocket costs associated with genetic testing for hereditary
breast, ovarian, prostate and other cancer syndromes – as well as supplemental
breast screenings for women with a high lifetime risk of breast cancer.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us

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NO PELVIC, PROSTATE, RECTAL EXAMS WITHOUT CONSENT

Health care providers that are overseeing professional instruction or clinical
training programs must obtain specific informed consent, in verbal or written
form, before performing pelvic examinations, rectal examinations or prostate
examinations.

“It’s a shocking and disturbing realization for many people that medical
students may perform a pelvic exam on a female patient who is under anesthesia
for an unrelated procedure,” reads a memo from the bill’s sponsors.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


COVERAGE FOR PASTEURIZED DONOR HUMAN MILK

Requires Medical Assistance coverage for medically prescribed pasteurized donor
human milk (PDHM) in inpatient and outpatient settings for medically fragile
infants under the age of 12 months. To qualify for coverage, the child’s mother
must be medically or physically unable to produce maternal breast milk in an
amount needed to meet the child’s needs. The donor milk must also be obtained
from a milk bank licensed in Pennsylvania or through a hospital licensure
process in accordance with the Keystone Mother’s Milk Bank Act (Act 7) of 2020.

   
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See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


MATERNAL MORBIDITY REPORTING

This law categorizes maternal morbidity complications as reportable events.
Severe maternal morbidity is a category of health conditions that complicate
pregnancy, including unexpected outcomes of labor delivery that result in
significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman’s health.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


TRANSITIONING MILITARY MEDICS TO CIVILIAN EMT/PARAMEDICS

This law ensures that a service member’s military education and training are
taken into consideration for the purpose of fulfilling requirements for
professional credentials related to emergency medical services providers.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


EDUCATION


FLEXIBILITY FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHEDULING

The legislation changes state law to allow schools to complete the school year
in either a minimum of 180 days or 900 hours at the elementary level and 990
hours at the secondary level – eliminating the current obligation to meet both
mandates.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


CHILD CARE TAX CREDIT

Legislation signed by Gov. Shapiro expanded the Pennsylvania Child and Dependent
Care Enhancement Tax Credit. As an example, for a low-income family with two
children in child care, their refundable state tax credit will go from $630
dollars to $2,100.

Read more at governor.pa.gov


TEACHERS ALLOWED TO WEAR RELIGIOUS GARB

Repeals Section 1112 of the Public School Code of 1949 that prohibits a teacher
from wearing any garb, mark, emblem or insignia that would indicate he or she is
a member of or adherent to any religious order or sect while in the performance
of their duties as a teacher.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


IN-STATE TUITION FOR REASSIGNED MILITARY FAMILIES

Amends Act 287 of 1982 to require public institutions of higher learning,
state-related or State-owned institutions, “Private institutions,” and community
colleges to charge resident tuition rates to veterans, their spouses and
dependent children, military personnel, their spouses and dependent children and
civilian personnel, their spouses and dependent children, provided that the
student is a resident of Pennsylvania on the date of deposit confirming their
intent to enroll, begins enrollment within the corresponding term for which the
deposit was made and remains in continuous enrollment at the institution.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us

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Here’s a view from WHYY News photographers of how the last 12 months unfolded in
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RIGHT-TO-KNOW FOR STATE-RELATED UNIVERSITIES

The four state-related universities (Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, and
Lincoln) must significantly increase the amount of university personnel salary
information that must be disclosed.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


ADVANCE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT FOR CHILDREN OF MILITARY FAMILIES

Requires a school district to develop a policy or revise an existing policy to
allow a child whose parent or legal guardian is an active member of the armed
forces, and has received official military orders to transfer into or within the
Commonwealth, to enroll in the school district prior to establishing residency,
as conditioned.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY


AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION

If you renew your driver’s license or state I.D. in Pennsylvania, you can be
automatically registered to vote, though you have the choice to opt out of being
registered.

People who are not eligible to vote will not be presented with the voter
registration screen during any of the DMV processes.

See more coverage on 6abc.com.


REMOVING RACIST LANGUAGE IN DEEDS

A new law targets ‘restrictive deed covenants,’ which were “a tool of systemic
racism that was written into deeds, barring the sale of properties to people of
a particular race, ethnicity, or religious group.”

The new law allows a property owner or homeowner association to file a form with
their county’s Recorder of Deeds office to strike a restrictive covenant from
their deed without having to pay a fee. The legislation also provides
reimbursement for the cost incurred by county recorders.

Read more at legis.state.pa.us


EXPANSION OF PROPERTY TAX/RENT REBATE PROGRAM

The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program was expanded to nearly 175,000 more
Pennsylvania seniors and doubles rebates for many of the 400,000 Pennsylvanians
who already qualify.

The expansion of the property tax/rent rebate program raises the maximum rebate
for seniors from $650 to $1,000, increases the income cap for renters and
homeowners to $45,000 a year, and ties the cap to increases in the cost of
living.

Read more at governor.pa.gov


FOOD


FROZEN DESSERT LAW REPEAL

The ‘Frozen Dessert Law’ passed in 1965 was repealed. It required companies to
perform monthly sampling and testing of frozen desserts. The bill’s sponsor said
it is now unnecessary since there has been a substantial increase at both the
state and federal levels of food sanitation laws and regulations since the
mid-1960s.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


PREFERRED ORGANIC TRADEMARK

This legislation permanently established the Pennsylvania Preferred Organic
Program in addition to the Pennsylvania Preferred Program.

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us


PETS


PA. DOG LAWS

The following updates were made to Pennsylvania dog laws:

 * Dogs now need to be licensed at three months of age, or at the point of
   transfer to a new owner
 * Increases annual and lifetime dog license fees and kennel fees, and
   authorizes the Department of Agriculture to increase license fees, as
   specified
 * Requires pet shops and kennels offering dogs for sale or adoption to display
   specified information about the dog
 * Adds additional penalties and fines, as delineated, and increases violation
   fees
 * Authorizes the department to revoke a kennel’s license or refuse a kennel
   license application for individuals convicted of animal cruelty
 * Requires dangerous dogs to not only be muzzled and leashed, but also under
   physical restraint

See the text of the law at legis.state.pa.us

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