SB 121 — An Act providing for the establishment and funding of a center to conduct research on gun violence in this Commonwealth.

PRINTER'S NO.   71

                    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                        SENATE BILL
                        No. 121
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, COMITTA, SCHWANK, STREET, KEARNEY, COSTA,
        HAYWOOD, KANE, TARTAGLIONE AND MILLER, JANUARY 22, 2025

     REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 22, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Providing for the establishment and funding of a center to
 2      conduct research on gun violence in this Commonwealth.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5   Section 1.    Short title.
 6      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Center for
 7   Gun Violence Research Act.
 8   Section 2.    Findings.
 9      The General Assembly finds and declares the following:
10          (1)    Gun violence is a significant public health crisis
11      and public safety problem in this Commonwealth and
12      nationwide. Nationally, rates of fatal gun violence have
13      remained essentially unchanged for more than a decade, as
14      declines in homicide have been offset by increases in
15      suicide.
16          (2)    For the decade ending in 2010, Pennsylvania had
17      12,941 gun-related deaths, which ranked fourth highest in the
18      United States. During that same decade, the rate of gun
 1      homicides among children and teenagers in this Commonwealth
 2      ranked as one of the highest in the nation.
 3          (3)     The annual cost of gun violence across the United
 4      States is estimated to be more than $100,000,000,000 and
 5      could be as high as $229,000,000,000 per year.
 6          (4)     Too little is known about gun violence, its causes
 7      and the best practices for its prevention. There is a
 8      substantial need for publicly funded academic research in gun
 9      violence. The need for more research and more sophisticated
10      research is critical in fighting the plague of gun violence
11      in our schools and communities.
12          (5)     Federal funding for gun violence research through
13      the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was
14      effectively eliminated by Congress in 1996 through the
15      passage of a provision known as the Dickey Amendment.
16          (6)     It is the intent of this act to provide State
17      funding for gun violence research in place of the Federal
18      funding that has been curtailed by the Dickey Amendment.
19   Section 3.   Definitions.
20      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
21   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
22   context clearly indicates otherwise:
23      "Center."    The Center for Gun Violence Research established
24   under section 4.
25      "University."    Any of the following:
26          (1)     An independent institution of higher education
27      located in and incorporated or chartered by the Commonwealth,
28      entitled to confer degrees as specified in 24 Pa.C.S. § 6505
29      (relating to power to confer degrees) and entitled to apply
30      to itself the designation "college," "university" or

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 1      "seminary" as provided for by standards and qualifications
 2      prescribed by the State Board of Education under 24 Pa.C.S.
 3      Ch. 65 (relating to private colleges, universities and
 4      seminaries).
 5            (2)   A State-owned institution.
 6            (3)   A State-related institution.
 7   Section 4.     Center for Gun Violence Research.
 8      (a)   Establishment.--The Center for Gun Violence Research is
 9   established as a research center for gun violence in this
10   Commonwealth. The center shall be administered by a university
11   selected by the Governor under section 5(i).
12      (b)   Mission.--The center's mission shall be to conduct
13   independent academic research on gun violence in this
14   Commonwealth and to provide policymakers, including the General
15   Assembly, the Governor, State agencies and local governments
16   with scientific evidence to develop sound gun violence
17   prevention policies and programs.
18      (c)   Nonpartisan research.--The center shall conduct research
19   on a nonpartisan basis.
20   Section 5.     Location of center.
21      (a)   Request for proposals.--Proposals for the location and
22   operation of the center shall be solicited through a request for
23   proposals.
24      (b)   Public notice.--Public notice of the request for
25   proposals shall be given in the same manner as provided under 62
26   Pa.C.S. § 512(c) (relating to competitive sealed bidding).
27      (c)   Receipt of proposals.--Universities shall submit
28   proposals in the form and time period as established by the
29   evaluation committee established under subsection (e).
30      (d)   Opening of proposals.--Proposals shall be opened in a

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 1   manner which avoids disclosure of the proposal's contents to
 2   competing offerors.
 3      (e)   Evaluation committee.--An evaluation committee is
 4   established to review all proposals and make recommendations to
 5   the Governor as provided under subsection (h). The committee
 6   shall be comprised of the following members:
 7            (1)   The Attorney General of the Commonwealth.
 8            (2)   The Secretary of Corrections.
 9            (3)   The Secretary of Education.
10            (4)   The Secretary of Health.
11            (5)   The Secretary of Human Services.
12            (6)   The chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime
13      and Delinquency.
14            (7)   The Commissioner of Pennsylvania State Police.
15      (f)   Evaluation criteria.--The relative importance of the
16   evaluation factors shall be fixed prior to opening the
17   proposals. No individual who has been employed within the
18   preceding two years by an applying university may participate in
19   the evaluation of proposals.
20      (g)   Discussion with responsible offerors and revision of
21   proposals.--
22            (1)   As provided in the request for proposals, the
23      evaluation committee may hold discussions with a university
24      for purposes of reviewing and clarifying the university's
25      proposal.
26            (2)   A university shall be accorded fair and equal
27      treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion,
28      review or revision of a proposal.
29            (3)   In conducting a discussion under paragraph (1), the
30      evaluation committee shall not disclose any information

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 1      derived from proposals submitted by competing universities.
 2      (h)   Recommendation to Governor.--The two universities whose
 3   proposals are determined in writing to be the most advantageous
 4   to the Commonwealth for carrying out the intent of this act and
 5   the mission of the center shall be recommended to the Governor
 6   for final selection.
 7      (i)   Selection by Governor.--Within 10 days of receipt of the
 8   recommendations under subsection (h), the Governor shall select
 9   the university to operate the center.
10   Section 6.     Duties.
11      (a)   Collaboration.--The center shall work on a continuing
12   basis with the Governor, the General Assembly and local
13   governments to identify, implement and evaluate innovative gun
14   violence prevention policies and programs.
15      (b)   Methods.--The center shall conduct basic, translational
16   and transformative research using scientific-based methods to
17   develop and analyze gun violence prevention policies and
18   programs.
19      (c)   Research.--The center shall conduct interdisciplinary
20   research that shall, at a minimum, include the following:
21            (1)   The nature of gun violence, including individual and
22      societal determinants of risk for involvement in gun
23      violence, whether as a victim or a perpetrator.
24            (2)   The individual, community and societal consequences
25      of gun violence.
26            (3)   Prevention and treatment of gun violence at the
27      individual, community and societal levels.
28            (4)   Effectiveness of existing laws and policies intended
29      to reduce gun violence, including the criminal misuse of
30      firearms and efforts to promote responsible ownership and

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 1      firearm use.
 2            (5)   Analysis of data and statistics of gun-related crime
 3      that occurs in this Commonwealth.
 4            (6)   The financial impact of gun violence on this
 5      Commonwealth, political subdivisions, hospitals, social
 6      service agencies and other entities impacted by gun violence.
 7      (d)   Cooperation.--Unless specifically prohibited by law,
 8   each State agency, county district attorney's office, local
 9   police department and county or municipal health department
10   shall provide to the center, upon request, the data necessary
11   for the center to conduct the research required under this act.
12      (e)   Reports.--Biennially, the center shall submit a report
13   to the Governor and the General Assembly on the center's
14   activities, including research projects completed during the
15   prior two years, current research projects and other information
16   the center deems relevant.
17      (f)   Internet website.--The center shall maintain a publicly
18   accessible Internet website and post all of the center's
19   completed research.
20   Section 7.     Funding.
21      (a)   General Assembly.--The General Assembly shall annually
22   provide an appropriation to fund the activities of the center.
23      (b)   Grants.--
24            (1)   The center may supplement the center's own research
25      by awarding competitive grants to nonprofit organizations
26      that conduct gun violence research.
27            (2)   All research money shall be awarded on scientific
28      merit as determined by an open and competitive peer review
29      process that ensures objectivity, consistency and high
30      quality. All qualified investigators, regardless of

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 1      institutional affiliation, shall have equal access and
 2      opportunity to compete for grant money.
 3            (3)   The peer review process for the selection of grants
 4      awarded under this section shall be modeled on the grant-
 5      making process used by the National Institutes of Health.
 6            (4)   Grants awarded under this subsection shall be made
 7      from the appropriation provided by the General Assembly.
 8      (c)   Research by grantees.--Research completed by a nonprofit
 9   organization through a grant awarded under subsection (b) shall:
10            (1)   Belong to the center.
11            (2)   Be posted on the center's publicly accessible
12      Internet website.
13            (3)   Be distributed to the Governor and the General
14      Assembly.
15      (d)   Submission for funding.--The university housing the
16   center shall, on an annual basis, submit a request for funding
17   to the Office of the Budget for inclusion in the Governor's
18   budget proposal. Funding for the center shall appear as a
19   separate line item in the Governor's proposed budget.
20   Section 8.     Effective date.
21      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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