Rep. Dave Madsen

Maddy summaryPennsylvania House Bill 2729 creates a new misdemeanor of the third degree for animal hoarding, defined as keeping animals in conditions that are unsanitary, unhealthful, malodorous, or dangerous to people, animals, or property. The bill specifies that each animal kept in violation constitutes a separate offense, but it excludes animals classified as agricultural commodities from this definition. For sentencing, the law requires a mental health evaluation of the defendant before any sentence is scheduled. If the court finds that the defendant suffered from a psychological or psychiatric disability at the time of the offense, it must order treatment and stay legal action pending a report on that treatment. Upon successful completion of treatment, the court must order the forfeiture of the animals, prohibit future ownership, reverse the conviction, and expunge the arrest record.

Maddy summaryPennsylvania House Bill 2728 amends state corporate law to prohibit business corporations, nonprofit corporations, and limited liability companies from directly or indirectly engaging in election activity or ballot question activity. The bill revokes existing general powers granted to these entities and re-grants them with specific exclusions for political spending, defining such activities as paying or contributing money to support or oppose candidates, political parties, or ballot measures. Any language in a corporate charter that purports to authorize this political activity is declared void, and any such activity conducted by an entity is considered ultra vires and legally invalid. Entities that violate these provisions face the automatic forfeiture of their charter privileges, including limited liability and perpetual duration, until they fully disgorge funds and certify future compliance. The Attorney General is authorized to pursue civil actions for injunctive relief and enforcement against non-compliant entities.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Pennsylvania's 1803 laws to regulate commercial pilots operating in the Delaware Bay and River. It requires individuals wishing to work as pilots to apply for a license from the Navigation Commission, which will evaluate their skills and issue permits based on the size of vessels they can safely navigate. The legislation establishes a six-tiered licensing system where each class corresponds to a specific maximum draft of vessels, ranging from deep-draft ships to smaller boats. Anyone attempting to pilot a vessel larger than one hundred tons without a valid license faces civil penalties and potential jail time. These rules will become effective 60 days after the bill is enacted.

Maddy summaryHB 1286 requires human trafficking awareness training for employees at hotels, motels, and similar public lodging establishments (defined as facilities offering >10 rooms for rent) and for workers contracted by third-party providers serving these locations. It also mandates similar training for short-term rental operators (like Airbnb hosts) and platforms listing such rentals. The training must cover identifying trafficking signs, legal definitions, reporting procedures, and differences between labor and sex trafficking in lodging contexts, with records maintained for two years. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will approve and list free training programs online to meet these requirements.

Maddy summaryHB 858 requires Pennsylvania county chief assessors to maintain and annually update a public list of property contact information, including owners' names and addresses. This applies directly to county assessors and ensures property owners' contact details are accessible to the public. The bill also imposes penalties for failure to comply with these requirements, aiming to improve transparency in property ownership records.

Maddy summaryHB 1505 amends Pennsylvania's Public School Code of 1949 to clarify definitions related to early learning programs. The bill specifically updates terminology used in the existing law to better define what constitutes early learning programs within the state's educational framework. This change directly affects school districts, early learning providers, and state education agencies by providing clearer standards for program classification and reporting under the Public School Code. The bill focuses solely on refining definitions, not creating new programs or funding mechanisms.

Maddy summaryHB 96 amends Pennsylvania's Real Estate Tax Sale Law to require tax authorities to send written notice of delinquent taxes to a designated individual (like a mortgage holder) before selling property. This directly affects property owners with unpaid taxes and mortgage lenders who may be designated to receive these notices. The bill establishes a specific notification process and imposes new duties on the Department of Community and Economic Development to manage these communications. The law aims to provide clearer notice to interested parties before tax sales occur, though it does not change the core process of tax sales itself.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act to support small, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses within the state's medical marijuana program. It achieves this by creating new definitions for disadvantaged, diverse, and small businesses and granting the Department of Health authority to issue additional dispensary permits specifically to these groups. Furthermore, the legislation requires the department to publish a list of available licenses annually and prioritize accepting applications from these eligible business types for those spots. The changes are designed to increase access for specific business categories without altering the core structure of the existing medical marijuana framework.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law to ban government agencies from signing nondisclosure agreements related to data centers. The law prohibits any contract that restricts the public from accessing information about the construction, development, or location of these facilities. If an agency signs such an agreement, the contract is considered void and unenforceable. The bill defines a data center as a facility used to process, store, or transmit data using computers and software.

Maddy summaryThis bill, titled the Broadcast Freemarket Agreement Act, prohibits employers in the radio, television, and digital media industries from enforcing non-compete clauses in employment contracts. It declares such agreements void if they stop workers from moving to other companies or performing services within a specific geographic area after leaving their current job. The law also ensures that employees cannot be forced to sign away these protections, while still allowing employers to maintain confidentiality agreements regarding trade secrets.