House passes Kinkead resolution to study PA crime and justice codes

Rep. Emily Kinkead    April 12, 2024 | 1:09 PM

HARRISBURG, April 12 – The Joint State Government Commission would establish a bipartisan task force to study the PA Crimes Code, Sentencing Code, Judicial Code, and all statutes, consolidated and unconsolidated, that carry a criminal penalty for language that is duplicative, inconsistent, unenforceable, carries improper offense grading, or is outdated for modern society under a concurrent resolution introduced by state Rep. Emily Kinkead that the PA House passed on Tuesday.

“With the large number of criminal offenses created since our Crimes Code was enacted in 1972, it’s important that we take the time to review the crimes that exist in our Commonwealth,” said Kinkead, D-Allegheny. “Using human trafficking as an example, it’s currently only a misdemeanor to traffic infants in Pennsylvania while it is still criminal to perform fortune telling for a profit, which is all but unenforced at this point. We must make sure our criminal statutes are enforceable, not duplicative, consistent in sentencing, and make sense in the modern world.”

Kinkead said the task force would be required to provide recommendations on how to remedy issues discovered through the study and would have two years to complete its task due to the magnitude of the undertaking.

The House passed H.R. 269 by a party-line vote of 102-99.