An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in human trafficking, further providing for victim protection during prosecution.
HB 753 amends Pennsylvania's criminal code to better protect human trafficking victims during legal proceedings. It creates an automatic affirmative defense for victims convicted of crimes like prostitution (§ 5902), theft (§ 3922), or drug possession when those crimes resulted directly from trafficking. Victims can also file motions to vacate convictions for these specific offenses by submitting written proof, evidence, and notifying prosecutors. Courts must grant such motions if victims prove by a preponderance of evidence that their conviction stemmed from being trafficked, without requiring prior prosecution of the trafficker. This directly affects individuals previously convicted of trafficking-related offenses who were victims themselves.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Mar 3, 2025
Last action Mar 3, 2025
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
1
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Mar 3, 2025
Committee
Referred to Judiciary
lower
1 primary · 18 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Melissa Shusterman
DDemocratic
Co
Ben Sanchez
DDemocratic
Co
Carol Hill-Evans
DDemocratic
Co
Gina Curry
DDemocratic
Co
Jim Haddock
DDemocratic
Co
Joe Hohenstein
DDemocratic
Co
Joe Webster
DDemocratic
Co
Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz
DDemocratic
Co
JG
José Giral
DDemocratic
Co
Kristine Howard
DDemocratic
Co
Kyle Donahue
DDemocratic
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