HARRISBURG – On Friday, Gov. Tom Wolf signed multiple bills finalizing the 2019-20 budget and taking other action.
The budgetary and fiscal bills are House Bills 33, 262, 790, 856, 1350, 1351, 1352, 1353, 1354, 1461 and 1615, and Senate Bills 127, 144, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 695 and 712.
Additionally, Wolf continued his efforts to ensure Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system supports victims by signing into law a package of bills providing additional rights and protections to victims of crime.
“We cannot build a just world without knowing the truth,” said Wolf. “The package of bills will help create a fairer justice system in Pennsylvania by enabling and assisting victims of all types to speak out without fear.”
The bills include:
- House Bill 315, which criminalizes female genital mutilation by making it a first-degree felony.
- House Bill 502, which amends the Crime Victims Act to allow the victim to be present in any criminal proceeding unless the court determines the victim’s own testimony would be altered by hearing other witnesses.
- House Bill 504, which prevents prosecutors bringing up the victim’s sexual history or prior allegations of sexual abuse while prosecuting certain crimes.
- Senate Bill 399, which makes updates to the Sexual Assault Testing and Evidence Collection Act, including requiring the Pennsylvania State Police to create procedures for anonymous victims and establishing timelines for submitting, testing, and storing rape kits.
- Senate Bill 469, which establishes procedures protecting victims and witnesses with intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorder, including allowing for testimony and questioning to take place outside of a courtroom.
- Senate Bill 479, which expands the list of crimes for which an out-of-court statement made by a child under 12 can be used.
Wolf also signed:
- House Bill 384, which increases the fine for driving a vehicle without an appropriately classed operator’s license to $200.
- House Bill 1065, which names a bridge on Route 3033 over Redbank Creek in Brookville Borough, Jefferson County, the “Cpl. James Slagle 2nd Ranger Battalion Army Ranger WWII Memorial Bridge” in honor of a veteran who participated in the D-Day operations on Omaha Beach and later maintained American Flags displayed along the bridge.
- ???????House Bill 1166, which changes the rates for pilotage fees in the Port of Philadelphia.
- Senate Bill 190, which transfers a .227-acre property in Somerset Township, Somerset County, from, the Department of General Services to Jeffrey C. Walker.
- Senate Bill 338, which increases the permissible width for farm vehicles from 16 to 18 feet and mandates the vehicle carry an “oversize load” sign.