Bill > HR269

This Resolution directs the Joint State Government Commission to create a bipartisan task force to examine Pennsylvania's criminal laws, including the Crimes Code (which defines criminal offenses and their punishments), the Judicial Code (governing court procedures), and the Sentencing Code (detailing penalties). The task force's purpose is to identify any laws, whether organized within these codes or separate, that can lead to imprisonment and other "collateral consequences" (legal penalties beyond jail time, such as loss of voting rights or professional licenses). Specifically, they will look for offenses that are repetitive, overlap with others, or are contradictory, as well as instances where crimes are improperly categorized by severity, where criminal liability is missing, or where the language used is outdated, offensive, or cannot be enforced. The task force, supported by an advisory committee composed of various stakeholders from the legal and justice systems, will then make recommendations to the General Assembly for legislative changes to address these issues and modernize the state's criminal statutes.