This was the first week of session for both chambers since the summer. With only eight session days remaining in 2026, and the General Election right around the corner, the sprint is on for legislation to pass both chambers and be signed into law.
In the new 2027-2028 legislative session, all bills that don’t become law during the 2025-2026 session must be reintroduced and go through the legislative process from the beginning.On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee and House Transportation Committee held a joint informational meeting on automated license plate reader systems. The House Republican Policy Committee held a similar public hearing, focusing on establishing guardrails for automated surveillance.
The House Human Services Committee reported two bills of note: HB 1345 (Cephas, D-Philadelphia), which would require Medical Assistance program to provide coverage for hormonal and non-hormonal therapy to treat menopausal symptoms; and SB 115 (Argall, R-Schuylkill), which would require the Department of Human Services to offer a skills competency exam in lieu of current high school diploma or GED requirements for individuals seeking employment as direct care staff in personal care homes or assisted living residences.
The House Local Government Committee reported out SB 1287 (Keefer, R-York), which would require that when a subdivision or development will not use individual private wells, the applicant must provide clear evidence that water service will be supplied by an authorized entity, such as a certificated public utility, municipal authority, or cooperative association.
On the House floor, three bills of note passed finally and will head to Senate for consideration:
- HB 2006 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would create protocols for operators of AI companions, disclosure requirements for AI companions, and safeguards for minors;
- HB 2378 (Madden, D-Monroe), which would lower the age for flu and pneumonia vaccines from 65 to 50 years or older as well as add individuals 75 years old or older as eligible for RSV vaccination; and
- HB 2649 (Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna), which would require health insurance coverage for fertility preservation services for individuals diagnosed with cancer.
Tuesday, the Senate Communications and Technology Committee reported out SB 1408 (Pennycuick, R-Montgomery), which would prohibit state and local government agencies from entering into non-disclosure agreements for data center development.
The House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee passed several bills related to insurance coverage:
- HB 1244 (Hanbidge, D-Montgomery), which would require insurance companies to provide coverage for pelvic floor therapy;
- HB 1346 (Hanbidge, D-Montgomery), which would require private insurers to provide coverage for hormonal and non-hormonal therapy to treat menopausal symptoms;
- HB 1827 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would require private insurance and Medicaid coverage for preventative measures, testing, and treatments for osteoporosis, beginning at the onset of menopause; and
- HB 2545 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would require insurance coverage for vaginal estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms and as a preventative measure for recurring UTIs.
HB 2135 (Cephas, D-Philadelphia) was reported from the House Labor & Industry Committee. The bill would make it unlawful for an employer to refuse an employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation, unless doing so would represent an undue hardship to the employer.
The House Consumer Protection, Technology, and Utilities Committee reported out HB 2584 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would require the PUC to create a user-friendly, searchable online database containing information on utility rates; and HB 2596 (Howard, D-Chester), which would require utility providers to offer the option to customers to have their utility payments reported to major credit reporting entities. The Committee also reported out HB 2480 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny), which would mandate that Automated External Defibrillators be readily available on electric utility worksites. A similar bill, SB 1328 (Bartolotta, R-Washington), was reported from the Senate Labor and Industry Committee.
The House Health Committee reported out HB 2702 (Frankel, D-Allegheny), which would remove the sunset provision governing Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council’s (PHC4) operations.
The House Gaming Oversight Committee reported out: SB 398 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would allow a fire company that has a valid small games of chance license to conduct online raffles; and SB 416 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would allow licensed eligible organizations to accept payment via credit card, debit card, mobile payment service, or other electronic payment methods for the purchase of a raffle ticket.
The Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee reported out several bills of note:
- SB 465 (Laughlin, R-Erie), which would allow club licensees to retain 50% of their proceeds from small games of chance;
- SB 995 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would increase the weekly prize limits on small games of chance from $35,000 to $60,000;
- SB 330 (Brooks, R-Crawford), which would devote 5% of professional and collegiate sport raffles 50/50 drawings to local fire departments; and
- HB 1424 (Takac, D-Centre), which would exempt privately-owned campgrounds from local amusement and admissions taxes.
SB 1035 (Kane, D-Delaware) was reported from the Senate Law and Justice Committee. This bill would allow terminally ill patients to use non-smoking forms of medical marijuana in hospitals.
Several bills of note passed on the House floor and will head to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 634 (Cepeda-Freytiz, D-Berks), which would require schools, as part of their safety and security assessments, to consider implementing a panic alarm system;
- HB 2184 (Otten, D-Chester), which would provide for the consideration of “public interest’ in a PUC proceeding that considers a major infrastructure approval or when the PUC determines that “public interest” is material to the outcome;
- HB 2490 (Abney, D-Allegheny), which would prohibit counties from requiring child welfare providers to waive an insurer’s right of subrogation as a condition of contracting; and
- HB 2625 (Dougherty, D-Philadelphia), would modernize fingerprinting and background check requirements for the horse racing industry to meet FBI requirements.
The House also adopted HR 287 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study and issue a report on workplace policies related to perimenopause and menopause offered by public and private employers.
On Wednesday, the House Communications and Technology Committee reported out: HB 2534 (Ortitay, R-Allegheny), which would update transparency laws regarding AI; and HR 563 (Waxman, D-Philadelphia), which would direct the Joint State Government Commission to study the impact driverless vehicles on safety and workforce.
The House Energy Committee reported out:
- HB 2755 (Pielli, D-Chester), which would mandate utilities participate in Regional Transmission Organizations;
- HB 2775 (Donahue, D-Lackawanna), which would require any data center applicant seeking zoning or land-use approval to demonstrate that they have submitted an interconnection application with the applicable electric utility provider and paid all mandatory fees and costs associated with the application;
- HB 2828 (Fiedler, D-Philadelphia), which would require electric utilities companies adopt the PUC’s model large-load tariff, require data centers to curtail their electric use during grid emergencies, and prevent large load from curtailing obligations;
- HR 564 (Freeman, D-Northampton), which would direct the Joint State Government Commission to produce a report investigating how heat from data centers can be captured and repurposed; and
- HR 630 (Sappey, D-Chester), which would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study aspects of data center decommissioning.
The House Finance Committee reported out two bills: HB 2639 (Salisbury, D-Allegheny), which would remove the 33% match for non-profit security grants in the $25,001 and $75,000 range if a non-profit’s annual revenue is less than $250,000; and HB 2706 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would update Pennsylvania’s Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit to match federal standards.
The House Professional Licensure Committee reported out: SB 114 (Argall, R-Schuylkill), which would increase the availability of long-term care training courses for nurse aides and to expand eligibility for individuals to take the nurse aide competency exam; and SB 1133 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would add an acute care institutional pharmacist and a pharmacy tech to the State Board of Pharmacy.
SB 807 (Culver, R-Northumberland) was reported from the Senate Aging and Youth Committee. The bill would establish a statewide elder abuse registry.
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee reported out two bills of note: HB 2555 (Hanbidge, D-Montgomery), which would create protections for equine sales; and SB 1485 (Vogel, R-Beaver), which would expand the powers of the State Racing Commission.
SB 1403 (Farry, R-Bucks) was reported from the Senate Institutional Sustainability and Innovation Committee. The bill would allow EMS to transport patients in a crisis to the most appropriate local facility.
The Senate Transportation Committee reported out two bills of note: HB 2437 (Davidson, D-Dauphin), which would permit counties to use Act 13 (Marcellus Legacy Fund) funds for county or municipal bridge improvements; and SB 1476 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would allow CDL drivers to carry their special permits in electronic format.
On the House floor, several bills passed finally and will head to the Senate for consideration:
- HB 1925 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would establish requirements governing the use of AI by healthcare facilities, health insurers, and Medical Assistance and Children’s Health Insurance Plan managed care plans;
- HB 2083 (Daley, D-Montgomery), which would authorize counties to require quarterly hotel tax reporting from hotels, operators, and booking agents and provides for standardized reporting and enforcement requirements;
- HB 2187 (Hill-Evans, D-York), which would increase the frequency of required criminal history background checks from once every 10 years to once every five years for individuals with access to federal tax information;
- HB 2535 (Sappey, D-Chester), which would require a large load user demonstrate compliance with reporting requirements in the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act before a building official can issue a certificate of occupancy;
- HB 2595 (Inglis, D-Allegheny), which would require electric distribution companies to complete and provide interconnection study within 90 days after both parties sign an interconnection feasibility study, or both parties sign an interconnection impact study or an interconnection facilities study agreement; and
- HB 2653 (Sappey, D-Chester), which would prohibit insurers from refusing to contract with a behavioral health care provider willing to accept the insurer’s standard participating network provider contract.
On the Senate floor, three bills of note passed finally and will head to the House for consideration:
- SB 738 (Gebhard, R-Lebanon), which would 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;
- SB 1376 (Coleman, R-Lehigh), which would require the Department of Aging to provide training to Area Agencies on Aging on protective services casework, investigation, conduct an annual evaluation of each agency, and complete an annual financial audit of each agency; and
- SB 1299 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would establish a tax credit for retrofitting residential high-rise structures with an automatic fire sprinkler system and associated monitoring or detection devices.
SB 468 (Langerholc, R-Cambria) passed finally in the House and will head to the Governor’s desk. The bill would authorize the Department of Transportation to participate in interstate agreements for the research and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems.
The Week Ahead
Both chambers are back in Harrisburg for three session days next week.
On Monday, the House Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Committee will hold a public hearing on the road spreading of oil and gas wastewater/DEP’s “Mineral Brine” Permit.
The House Communications and Technology Committee will consider SB 806 (Pisciottano, D-Allegheny), which would prohibit advertisers from knowingly AI in a way that creates false consumer perception about a product or service without clear and conspicuous disclosure.
The House Environmental Committee will consider SB 403 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would amend the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act to create a continuous maintenance permit.
The House Commerce Committee will consider SB 1182 (Yaw, R-Lycoming), which would make numerous changes to the Board of Vehicles Act.
The House Labor and Industry Committee will consider two bills of note: SB 908 (Farry, R-Bucks), which would apply prevailing wage to off-site custom fabrication and prohibit split rates; and SB 1260 (Robinson, R-Allegheny), which would provide for the licensure of electrical contractors, electricians, residential electricians, apprentice electricians, and probationary electricians.
The House Transportation Committee will consider several bills of note:
- HB 1592 (Guzman, D-Berks), which would establish ADA-compliant parking at public EV charging stations;
- HB 2304 (Venkat, D-Allegheny), which would provide a fee exemption for state photo identification renewals for older individuals who have given up their driver’s license for medical reasons;
- HB 2433 (Scheuren, R-Montgomery), which would require priority to be given to projects utilizing recycled asphalt and materials when PennDOT awards Multimodal Fund grants; and
- HB 2810 (Neilson, D-Philadelphia), which would allow for a digital titling system for registration and title documents.
On Tuesday, the House Energy Committee will hold an informational meeting on electric reliability.
The House State Government Committee will consider one bill of note: SB 1183 (Culver, R-Northumberland), which would raise the thresholds for an audit, review or compilation of the financial reports required to be submitted by charitable organizations from $750,000 to $1 million.
The House Human Services Committee will consider HB 1939 (Benham, D-Allegheny), which would require the Department of Human Services to update Direct Support Professional rates annually.
The House Education Committee will consider several bills related to AI in schools:
- HB 2785 (Schweyer, D-Lehigh), which would establish guidelines for third-party providers of AI-related technology on procurement and data privacy requirements for schools;
- HB 2786 (Dukes, D-Butler), which would require schools to adopt a clear local policy governing the responsible use of AI by students and staff;
- HB 2787 (Shusterman, D-Chester), which would prohibit using AI for student mental health services; and
- HB 2788 (Pielli, D-Chester), which would allow a school entity to provide training to a school employee on AI in education.
On Wednesday, the House Health Committee will consider two pieces of legislation of note: SB 804 (Boscola, D-Northampton), which would prohibit the utilization of DEHP (Di – 2 Ethylhexyl phthalate) in intravenous solution containers or tubing; and HR 534 (Venkat, R-Allegheny), which would direct the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on medical student choice in primary care.
The House Children and Youth Committee will consider one bill of note: SB 1372 (Brooks, R-Mercer), which would require greater transparency, oversight, and reporting of taxpayer-funded childcare programs.
The House Communications and Technology Committee will consider HB 2666 (Waxman, D-Philadelphia), which would require consent before a social media platform may use a user’s data to generate AI-driven content or interactions on that users behalf after death or prolonged account inactivity.
Friday, the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee will hold an informational meeting on funding and access to firefighter training, recruitment and retention efforts, and the challenges facing volunteer fire departments
A full list of committee meetings can be found here:
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