Regular Session 2023-2024 House Resolution 0269 P.N. 2394

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2345

PRINTER'S NO. 2394

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

No.

269

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY KINKEAD, RABB, MADDEN, HOHENSTEIN, KHAN, BOROWSKI,

HILL-EVANS, D. MILLER, OTTEN, SANCHEZ, KAZEEM, SCHLOSSBERG,

WARREN, DALEY, GREEN AND CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, NOVEMBER 30, 2023

AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, DECEMBER 10, 2023

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liability, out-of-date, antiquated, offensive or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.

WHEREAS, In 1972, the General Assembly enacted the Crimes

Code in Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes,

which contained 282 carefully considered offenses and

suboffenses; and

WHEREAS, Since the Crimes Code's enactment, it has expanded

more than fivefold and now contains more than 1,500 offenses and

suboffenses, the majority of which were created without a

thorough review of the entire Crimes Code; and

WHEREAS, According to a 2009 report on offense grading

jointly commissioned by the Judiciary Committee of the Senate

and the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and

authored by Professor Paul H. Robinson as well as the University

of Pennsylvania's Criminal Law Research Group, this ad hoc

expansion of the Crimes Code has resulted in a "system of

offenses marked by irrational and contradictory grading

differences, and offense grades that seriously conflict with the

values of Pennsylvania residents" in addition to various

overlapping and duplicative offenses; and

WHEREAS, The addition of numerous new offenses and changes to

the Crimes Code since the publication of the 2009 report has not

only exacerbated the issues identified in the report but has

also extended to new, inconsistent and outdated provisions in

our Commonwealth's Judicial Code and Sentencing Code, as well as

other statutes, consolidated or otherwise, for which a term of

imprisonment and other collateral consequences may be imposed;

and

WHEREAS, A rational crimes code with offenses that coincide

with the views of the residents of this Commonwealth, in

conjunction with a cohesive Sentencing Code and a consistent

Judicial Code, is necessary to build and sustain public trust in

the laws of this Commonwealth and in the interpretation of those

laws by the judiciary; and

WHEREAS, The ever-increasing size and scope of the Crimes

Code has made it difficult for legislators to identify and

remedy gaps in criminal liability within the Crimes Code; and

WHEREAS, The convoluted nature of the Crimes Code has also

made it difficult for residents to fully comprehend the offenses

and grades within the code; and

WHEREAS, This is contrary to the goal of the Crimes Code,

which is to provide the public with a clear and comprehensible

list of prohibited activities and their punishments; and

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WHEREAS, A cohesive and rational Crimes Code, Judicial Code

and Sentencing Code would be advantageous for the residents of

this Commonwealth and every constituency working within the

criminal justice process as it would serve to reduce confusion

and provide a consistent approach to crime and punishment and

any attendant penalties contained in statutes that include

offenses for which a term of imprisonment and other collateral

consequences are possible outcomes; and

WHEREAS, Eliminating or updating out-of-date, antiquated,

offensive or unenforceable language from all provisions of

Pennsylvania's Crimes Code, Judicial Code and Sentencing Code,

as well as any consolidated or unconsolidated statutes that

could result in imprisonment and other collateral consequences,

would finally modernize the language of our codes, thereby

ensuring that the State laws reflect the views of the residents

in this Commonwealth consistently and unequivocally; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly should be knowledgeable about

the state and nature of the Crimes Code and aware of any

oversights, deficiencies and redundancies within the Code that

would best be resolved; therefore be it

RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly

direct 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; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That the task force consist of two members of the

Senate, one appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate

and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, and two

members of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the

Speaker of the House of Representatives and one appointed by the

Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; and be it

further

RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission oversee

the creation of an advisory committee to assist the task force

in conducting the study and making recommendations; and be it

further

RESOLVED, That the advisory committee shall have 30 members

appointed by the Governor with the consent and approval of the

task force, comprised of representatives from the Office of

Attorney General, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and

Delinquency, the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania,

the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the

Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the judiciary, law

enforcement agencies, private and public organizations involved

in criminal justice issues and additional members as the task

force deems appropriate; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force and advisory committee shall:

(1) study the existing Crimes Code and any statutory

offenses or suboffenses outside of the Crimes Code under

which a term of imprisonment and other collateral

consequences may be imposed;

(2) study the existing Judicial Code;

(3) study the existing Sentencing Code;

(4) identify redundant, overlapping and inconsistent

offenses, irrational and improper grading and potential gaps

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in criminal liability;

(5) identify out-of-date, antiquated, offensive or

unenforceable language from all provisions of Pennsylvania's

Crimes Code, Judicial Code and Sentencing Code, as well as

any consolidated or unconsolidated statutes that could result

in imprisonment and other collateral consequences;

(6) make recommendations to the General Assembly

regarding changes in statute to remedy any defects,

redundancies and shortcomings; and

(7) make recommendations to the General Assembly

regarding updating antiquated, offensive or unenforceable

language;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the task force report its findings and

recommendations to the General Assembly within one year TWO

YEARS of the adoption of this resolution.

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