HR 393 — A Resolution designating February 28, 2026, as "HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.   2782

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



              HOUSE RESOLUTION
                 No. 393
                                                 Session of
                                                   2026

     INTRODUCED BY WAXMAN, GIRAL, ISAACSON, FREEMAN, VITALI, McNEILL,
        HOHENSTEIN, SANCHEZ, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, MAYES AND MADDEN,
        JANUARY 20, 2026

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JANUARY 21, 2026


                                  A RESOLUTION
 1   Designating February 28, 2026, as "HIV is Not a Crime Awareness
 2      Day" in Pennsylvania.
 3         WHEREAS, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a chronic
 4   illness that can be effectively managed with antiretroviral
 5   therapy, and the science around HIV treatment and prevention has
 6   progressed significantly in the four decades since the early
 7   days of the epidemic; and
 8         WHEREAS, We now possess effective mechanisms to prevent the
 9   transmission of HIV, including barrier protection, such as
10   condoms, pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis;
11   and
12         WHEREAS, It has been recognized by national and international
13   public health authorities that HIV treatment is also HIV
14   prevention, since individuals living with HIV who are receiving
15   antiretroviral therapy and have an undetectable viral load,
16   which is less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood,
17   cannot transmit HIV through sexual contact; and
 1      WHEREAS, Pennsylvanians living with HIV have been charged
 2   with crimes for conduct that would not be criminal or would be
 3   less severe but for their HIV status, a phenomenon known as HIV
 4   criminalization; and
 5      WHEREAS, Pennsylvanians living with HIV may fear prosecution
 6   or be threatened with prosecution, especially in cases of
 7   intimate partner abuse; and
 8      WHEREAS, HIV criminalization increases stigma against
 9   individuals living with HIV and, according to the United States
10   Department of Health and Human Services 2019 Plan for Ending the
11   HIV Epidemic, stigma "can be a debilitating barrier preventing
12   people living with, or at risk for, HIV from receiving the
13   health care, services, and respect they need and deserve"; and
14      WHEREAS, HIV criminalization laws have been
15   disproportionately used to prosecute people of color, women, sex
16   workers, the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups; and
17      WHEREAS, Misperceptions about HIV transmission, treatment and
18   prevention, as well as HIV criminalization and its impact on
19   individuals living with HIV are common; and
20      WHEREAS, It is vitally important for all elected officials in
21   this Commonwealth to consider updating or repealing outdated
22   laws and practices regarding HIV criminalization and to
23   encourage every Pennsylvanian to educate themselves about HIV
24   and HIV criminalization; therefore be it
25      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate
26   February 28, 2026, as "HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day" in
27   Pennsylvania.




20260HR0393PN2782                  - 2 -