HR 99 — A Concurrent Resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to establish a bipartisan task force to study any consolidated or unconsolidated State statutes in the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Judicial Code, Sentencing Code or elsewhere under which a term of imprisonment and other collateral consequences may be imposed in order to identify redundant, overlapping and inconsistent offenses, improper grading and gaps in criminal liability, out-of-date, antiquated, offensive or unenforceable language and to make recommendations to the General Assembly.

PRINTER'S NO.   828

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 99
                                             Session of
                                               2025

     INTRODUCED BY KINKEAD, HILL-EVANS, PIELLI, RABB, SANCHEZ,
        HOWARD, D. MILLER, D. WILLIAMS, WARREN, WEBSTER, CEPEDA-
        FREYTIZ, KHAN, MADDEN AND WAXMAN, MARCH 3, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 3, 2025


                         A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1   Directing the Joint State Government Commission to establish a
 2      bipartisan task force to study any consolidated or
 3      unconsolidated State statutes in the Pennsylvania Crimes
 4      Code, Judicial Code, Sentencing Code or elsewhere under which
 5      a term of imprisonment and other collateral consequences may
 6      be imposed in order to identify redundant, overlapping and
 7      inconsistent offenses, improper grading and gaps in criminal
 8      liability, out-of-date, antiquated, offensive or
 9      unenforceable language and to make recommendations to the
10      General Assembly.
11      WHEREAS, In 1972, the General Assembly enacted the Crimes
12   Code in Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes,
13   which contained 282 carefully considered offenses and
14   suboffenses; and
15      WHEREAS, Since the Crimes Code's enactment, it has expanded
16   more than fivefold and now contains more than 1,500 offenses and
17   suboffenses, the majority of which were created without a
18   thorough review of the entire Crimes Code; and
19      WHEREAS, According to a 2009 report on offense grading
20   jointly commissioned by the Judiciary Committee of the Senate
21   and the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and
 1   authored by Professor Paul H. Robinson as well as the University
 2   of Pennsylvania's Criminal Law Research Group, this ad hoc
 3   expansion of the Crimes Code has resulted in a "system of
 4   offenses marked by irrational and contradictory grading
 5   differences, and offense grades that seriously conflict with the
 6   values of Pennsylvania residents" in addition to various
 7   overlapping and duplicative offenses; and
 8         WHEREAS, The addition of numerous new offenses and changes to
 9   the Crimes Code since the publication of the 2009 report has not
10   only exacerbated the issues identified in the report but has
11   also extended to new, inconsistent and outdated provisions in
12   our Commonwealth's Judicial Code and Sentencing Code, as well as
13   other statutes, consolidated or otherwise, for which a term of
14   imprisonment and other collateral consequences may be imposed;
15   and
16         WHEREAS, A rational crimes code with offenses that coincide
17   with the views of the residents of this Commonwealth, in
18   conjunction with a cohesive Sentencing Code and a consistent
19   Judicial Code, is necessary to build and sustain public trust in
20   the laws of this Commonwealth and in the interpretation of those
21   laws by the judiciary; and
22         WHEREAS, The ever-increasing size and scope of the Crimes
23   Code has made it difficult for legislators to identify and
24   remedy gaps in criminal liability within the Crimes Code; and
25         WHEREAS, The convoluted nature of the Crimes Code has also
26   made it difficult for residents to fully comprehend the offenses
27   and grades within the code; and
28         WHEREAS, This is contrary to the goal of the Crimes Code,
29   which is to provide the public with a clear and comprehensible
30   list of prohibited activities and their punishments; and

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 1      WHEREAS, A cohesive and rational Crimes Code, Judicial Code
 2   and Sentencing Code would be advantageous for the residents of
 3   this Commonwealth and every constituency working within the
 4   criminal justice process as it would serve to reduce confusion
 5   and provide a consistent approach to crime and punishment and
 6   any attendant penalties contained in statutes that include
 7   offenses for which a term of imprisonment and other collateral
 8   consequences are possible outcomes; and
 9      WHEREAS, Eliminating or updating out-of-date, antiquated,
10   offensive or unenforceable language from all provisions of
11   Pennsylvania's Crimes Code, Judicial Code and Sentencing Code,
12   as well as any consolidated or unconsolidated statutes that
13   could result in imprisonment and other collateral consequences,
14   would finally modernize the language of our codes, thereby
15   ensuring that the State laws reflect the views of the residents
16   in this Commonwealth consistently and unequivocally; and
17      WHEREAS, The General Assembly should be knowledgeable about
18   the state and nature of the Crimes Code and aware of any
19   oversights, deficiencies and redundancies within the Code that
20   would best be resolved; therefore be it
21      RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
22   direct the Joint State Government Commission to establish a
23   bipartisan task force to study any consolidated or
24   unconsolidated State statutes in the Pennsylvania Crimes Code,
25   Judicial Code, Sentencing Code or elsewhere under which a term
26   of imprisonment and other collateral consequences may be imposed
27   in order to identify redundant, overlapping and inconsistent
28   offenses, improper grading and gaps in criminal liability, out-
29   of-date, antiquated, offensive or unenforceable language and to
30   make recommendations to the General Assembly; and be it further

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 1      RESOLVED, That the task force consist of two members of the
 2   Senate, one appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate
 3   and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, and two
 4   members of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the
 5   Speaker of the House of Representatives and one appointed by the
 6   Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and be it
 7   further
 8      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission oversee
 9   the creation of an advisory committee to assist the task force
10   in conducting the study and making recommendations; and be it
11   further
12      RESOLVED, That the advisory committee shall have 30 members
13   appointed by the Governor with the consent and approval of the
14   task force, comprised of representatives from the Office of
15   Attorney General, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
16   Delinquency, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, the
17   Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania
18   Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Pennsylvania
19   District Attorneys Association, the judiciary, law enforcement
20   agencies, private and public organizations involved in criminal
21   justice issues and additional members as the task force deems
22   appropriate; and be it further
23      RESOLVED, That the task force and advisory committee shall:
24             (1)   study the existing Crimes Code and any statutory
25      offenses or suboffenses outside of the Crimes Code under
26      which a term of imprisonment and other collateral
27      consequences may be imposed;
28             (2)   study the existing Judicial Code;
29             (3)   study the existing Sentencing Code;
30             (4)   identify redundant, overlapping and inconsistent

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 1      offenses, irrational and improper grading and potential gaps
 2      in criminal liability;
 3          (5)     identify out-of-date, antiquated, offensive or
 4      unenforceable language from all provisions of Pennsylvania's
 5      Crimes Code, Judicial Code and Sentencing Code, as well as
 6      any consolidated or unconsolidated statutes that could result
 7      in imprisonment and other collateral consequences;
 8          (6)     make recommendations to the General Assembly
 9      regarding changes in statute to remedy any defects,
10      redundancies and shortcomings; and
11          (7)     make recommendations to the General Assembly
12      regarding updating antiquated, offensive or unenforceable
13      language;
14   and be it further
15      RESOLVED, That the task force report its findings and
16   recommendations to the General Assembly within two years of the
17   adoption of this resolution.




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