September 28-30, 2026

Bills voted on Third Consideration

SB 1368 (PENNYCUICK) Creates the Stopping Harmful Image Exploitation and Likeness Deception Act to prohibit a person from knowingly developing or operating a nudification application. Prohibits an online application marketplace operator from knowingly offering, distributing, selling, licensing, or otherwise making available a nudification application or permitting one to be downloaded, installed, accessed, purchased, or subscribed by a user located in the Commonwealth. Requires an online application marketplace to remove or disable access to a nudification application or service withing five days after receiving a notice through an online portal it must make available for users to submit such notification. Gives enforcement authority to the Attorney General and subjects violations to a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each unlawful download of the nudification application. PASSED 49-0.

HB 513 (DAVANZO) Amends Title 76 (Weights, Measures and Standards) to establish the Pennsylvania State Coordinate System to align the Commonwealth’s method for defining horizontal and vertical locations on the earth’s surface with the most up-to-date plane coordinate system used in the National Spatial Reference System, which is maintained by the National Geodetic Survey. Repeals Act 310
of 1937, which currently governs the Commonwealth’s Plane Coordinate System. PASSED 48-1.

Bill amended on Third Consideration

SB 980 (YAW) Amends Title 35 (Health and Safety) to prohibit manufacturers from manufacturing or knowingly selling, offering for sale, or distributing for sale or use class B firefighting foam containing an intentionally added PFAS chemical that is not required under federal law. Prohibits the use of such foam, except for by airports; chemical plants; oil refineries; or flammable liquid or natural gas terminals, storage facilities, or distribution facilities. Establishes labeling, notification, and posting requirements on manufactures of personal protective equipment. Expands the use of Fire Company Grant Program funding to the disposal, transportation, storage, and destruction of any unexpended stock of class B firefighting foam containing an intentionally added PFAS chemical; and the purchase or acquisition of class B firefighting foam that does not contain an intentionally added PFAS chemical. OVER AS AMENDED.

A04350 (YAW) Allows the fire commissioner to issue a waiver authorizing an eligible applicant to use funding through the Fire Company Grant Program for the purchase of personal protective equipment containing intentionally added PFAS, if the commissioner determines that no viable or reasonable PFAS-free alternative is currently available. Allows natural gas generating facilities to use a class B firefighting foam containing an intentionally added PFAS chemical that is not required under federal law. ADOPTED 27-22.

Bills voted on Third Consideration

HB 852 (WEBSTER) Amends The Local Tax Enabling Act to authorize tax collection agencies to recover reasonable costs incurred from issuing delinquency notices and collecting delinquent mercantile or business privilege and amusement taxes from a taxpayer. Requires tax collectors to notify a taxpayer’s spouse if they intend to proceed against a spouse regarding the collection of delinquent taxes. Provides that a governing body of a political subdivision must notify the public of the costs associated with collection of delinquent taxes through the adoption of a resolution and posting that resolution in the business office and on the publicly accessible website of the political subdivision. PASSED 48-1.

HB 853 (WEBSTER) Amends the Local Tax Collection Law to authorize county tax collectors to recover reasonable costs incurred from collecting delinquent per capita, poll, and occupation taxes. Requires the taxing district to adopt a resolution and provide notification to the public of the costs associated with the collection of delinquent taxes. Fees may only be imposed for costs incurred during the five-year period commencing after the end of the tax year in which taxes were due. PASSED 49-0.

Bills amended on Third Consideration

SB 478 (FARRY) Creates the Employee Ownership Assistance Program Act by establishing the Office of Employee Ownership within the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to serve as an advocate for improving government knowledge and support for profit-sharing and ownership stakes; increase awareness of how agency programs affect companies with profit-sharing and ownership stake programs; and promote legislative or regulatory changes necessary to ensure that government policies encourage the adoption of existing and emerging sharing programs. Establishes a program through which funding will be distributed to local administrative agencies for the purpose of providing low-interest loans to employee-ownership groups for technical assistance to develop or improve an employee-owned enterprise. Establishes a program through which funding will be distributed to local administrative agencies for the purpose of providing loans to employee-owned enterprises reorganizing industrial facilities, manufacturing facilities, and agricultural enterprises. Requires the Governor to appoint an employee ownership advocate who is qualified to represent the interest of employee-owned enterprises and will oversee the Office and the technical and financial assistance programs. Establishes the Employee Ownership Advisory Board to raise awareness for employee-owned enterprises; research methods to encourage development and expansion of employee-owned enterprises; make recommendations to DCED and the General Assembly on policies related to employee-owned enterprises; develop proposed best practices for employee-owned enterprises; and develop educational materials and outreach opportunities for the maintenance and development of employee-owned enterprises. OVER AS AMENDED.

A04374 (FARRY) Streamlines and eliminates redundancy in the annual reports required to be submitted to the General Assembly. Allows DCED to be reimbursed for providing administrative and legal support to the Office. Clarifies financial assistance is distributed through low-interest loans. Requires recommendations from the Advisory Board be made on a bi-annual basis rather than annually. Makes various technical changes. ADOPTED 49-0.

SB 1299 (FARRY) Establishes the City of the First Class Residential High-Rise Fire Sprinkler Retrofit Tax Relief Act to authorize an income tax credit in Philadelphia to owners of residential high-rise structures for the installation or improvement of existing automatic fire sprinkler systems and associated monitoring or detection devices. OVER AS AMENDED.

A04261 (ROBINSON) Adds a city of the second class (Pittsburgh). ADOPTED 49-0.

Bills voted on Third Consideration

SB 738 (GEBHARD) Amends the Older Adults Protective Services Act to authorize, and in certain cases require, employees of financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation of older adults to the local Area Agency on Aging, law enforcement, or the Department of Aging. Authorizes financial institutions to hold, refuse, or prevent a financial transaction when there is reasonable cause to believe the transaction would lead to the financial exploitation of an older adult. Authorizes financial institutions to share information regarding an older adult with individuals authorized to access the older adult’s account for the purpose of avoiding or remedying suspected financial exploitation or otherwise protecting the older adult. Requires the Department, in consultation with the Department of Banking and Securities, to develop or designate a model training program on identifying financial exploitation of older adults for financial institution employees. Provides immunity from civil and criminal liability to financial institutions and their employees for actions taken in good faith in accordance with law. Provides penalties for violating reporting requirements imposed on financial institutions and for officers or employees that aid in the financial exploitation of an older adult. PASSED 47-2.

SB 1217 (FARRY) Provides for omnibus road and bridge designations within the following counties: Berks, Bucks, Blair, Cambria, Chester, Delaware, Fayette, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Somerset, and Westmoreland. PASSED 49-0.

SB 1376 (COLEMAN) Amends the Administrative Code to provide for older adult protective services oversight, training, and evaluation by the Department of Aging and Area Agencies on Aging. Requires the Department to provide training to agencies on protective services casework, investigation, and intake; conduct an annual evaluation of each agency; and complete an annual financial audit of each agency. Deems agencies compliant, remedial, or noncompliant based upon their scoring on their annual evaluations. For a remedial or noncompliant agency, requires the Department to audit a larger amount of adult abuse cases and those where an older adult died during an active investigations; develop an improvement plan in collaboration with the agency; provide appropriate training to improve compliance; timely address statutory or regulatory violations; provide technical assistance; require the agency to submit policy-compliance self-assessments either periodically (remedial) or monthly (noncompliant); require bi-monthly (remedial) or monthly (noncompliant) follow-up meetings with agency leadership until compliance is demonstrated; and evaluate the agency within six months following the development of a remedial improvement plan or 90 days following the development of a noncompliant plan. Requires the Department to monitor all agencies to ensure compliance with all applicable provisions of law and gather stakeholder feedback from victims, older adults, caregivers, and agencies to identify service gaps. Requires an agency to initiate an investigation immediately upon receipt of an emergency report of need for older adult protective services; as soon as possible for a priority report; and within 72 hours for a nonpriority report. Stipulates agencies must complete investigations within 20 days. Prohibits the Department or any agency from entering into a contract that limits the oversight power of the Department, the General Assembly, or the Auditor General with respect to older adult protective services. PASSED 33-16.

SB 1438 (PENNYCUICK) Amends Title 75 (Vehicles) by directing the Department of Transportation to design and produce a Green Star Family special registration plate to be issued upon application to a family member of a person who died by suicide relating to military service. Establishes a $28 fee for the plate that is in addition to the annual or biennial registration fee. PASSED 49-0.

HB 1442 (BOROWSKI) Amends Title 16 (Counties) by requiring a coroner to determine if an autopsy or inquest should be conducted in cases of sudden unexplained death in a person diagnosed with epilepsy (SUDEP). Requires an investigation conducted by a coroner to include an inquiry to determine whether the death of a deceased individual was a direct result of a seizure or epilepsy. Requires a coroner to indicate SUDEP as the cause of death on a death certificate if findings of the investigation are consistent with SUDEP or suspected SUDEP and provide contact information to the next-of-kin for a third-party entity that tracks and analyzes SUDEP deaths. PASSED 49-0.

Bill amended and voted on Third Consideration

SB 1299 (FARRY) Establishes the Residential High-Rise Fire Sprinkler Retrofit Tax Relief Act to authorize an income tax credit in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to owners of residential high-rise structures for the installation or improvement of existing automatic fire sprinkler systems and associated monitoring or detection devices. AMENDED AND PASSED 49-0.

A04399 (COLEMAN) Adds third class cities to authorize the tax credit in all cities. ADOPTED 49-0.