Sen. Devlin Robinson

Maddy summaryThis resolution symbolically recognizes January 27, 2025, as "International Holocaust Remembrance Day" in Pennsylvania. It does not create new laws or affect specific groups; instead, it formally acknowledges the UN-established date honoring Holocaust victims and promoting education about the genocide. The resolution references the historical context of the Holocaust and the UN's 2005 designation of January 27 as a day to honor victims and combat hatred. It serves as a commemorative gesture by the Pennsylvania Senate.

Maddy summarySB 143 redefines "sexually exploited child" in Pennsylvania law to include minors involved in sex trafficking or prostitution under specific circumstances. It creates a "safe harbor" that prevents prosecution for offenses like prostitution or obstruction if a child is determined to be sexually exploited, instead requiring county agencies to assess the child’s situation and connect them with support services. The bill mandates law enforcement to notify county agencies when a child may be exploited, and courts must pause delinquency proceedings to verify if the child’s actions resulted from exploitation. These changes directly affect minors under 18 involved in sex trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation, shifting responses from criminal penalties to victim support.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Pennsylvania's Automobile Lemon Law to clarify definitions and strengthen protections for buyers and lessees of defective new vehicles, including motorcycles. It establishes specific time and mileage limits for when manufacturers must repair issues that significantly affect a vehicle's use, value, or safety, and mandates refunds or replacements if these repairs fail after a reasonable number of attempts. The legislation also introduces a presumption that a reasonable number of repair attempts have occurred for motorcycles if manufacturer-sourced parts are used, while excluding off-road vehicles and dual-sport motorcycles from coverage. Additionally, the law sets a maximum deduction of 10 cents per mile or 10% of the purchase price when calculating refunds for the consumer's use of the vehicle before the defect was reported.

Maddy summaryThis bill creates a new fund to help pay for the medical care of retired police dogs in Pennsylvania. It establishes the K-9 Retirement Fund, which is managed by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to provide financial grants to individuals caring for these animals. The fund can accept money from various sources, including state appropriations and donations, to cover veterinary expenses such as surgeries, medications, and end-of-life care. To ensure transparency, the commission must submit annual reports detailing how the money is spent and post them online.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands newborn protection laws in Pennsylvania by allowing parents to leave their infants with hospitals, police stations, emergency services providers, and urgent care centers without facing criminal charges. It grants immunity to these facilities and their staff, including security and administrative personnel, provided the newborn is not a victim of abuse and the parent clearly intends to surrender the child. The legislation also permits urgent care centers to accept newborns and take them into protective custody, while requiring hospitals and other facilities to install incubators with specific safety features like automatic 911 alerts. Additionally, the bill defines key terms such as "urgent care center" and "emergency services provider" to clarify who is authorized to handle these situations.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Pennsylvania's Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator State Registration Act to expand the group of people covered to include those who are deafblind and to clarify definitions for services like video remote interpreting. It requires individuals providing these services to be state-registered by the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, with specific exceptions for volunteers, students, religious settings, and short-term visitors. The legislation also outlines how the office must review educational programs and establishes a process for provisional registration, ensuring that the state maintains oversight while allowing for necessary flexibility in various contexts.

Maddy summaryThis law updates Pennsylvania's Public School Code to broaden the definition of "school district" to include various types of schools, such as charter schools and cyber charters. It specifically changes how schools handle tick-borne disease testing results by requiring them to provide original reports to parents while prohibiting the creation of copies or inclusion of these results in student medical records. Additionally, the bill allows schools to record disease types in a separate, anonymous log to track health trends on school property without linking the data to individual students.

Maddy summaryThis bill expands workers' compensation coverage to include post-traumatic stress injuries for emergency medical services personnel responding to specific traumatic events. It defines a qualifying traumatic event as incidents involving serious injury or death, threats to life, mass casualties, or crime scene investigations, and extends the time limit for filing claims to one year after the injury occurs. The legislation also sets a maximum benefit period of 104 weeks for these stress-related injuries and allows treatment by licensed psychologists or psychiatrists. By updating the state's Workers' Compensation Act, the law ensures that EMS workers who suffer from psychological trauma related to their duties can receive financial and medical support.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Pennsylvania's Sexual Assault Testing and Evidence Collection Act to clarify definitions and improve how evidence is managed. It designates the Pennsylvania State Police as the sole entity responsible for maintaining and operating the statewide tracking system used to record sexual assault evidence kits. The legislation also establishes that information in this system is intended solely as a resource for victims and cannot be used in court to challenge the legal chain of custody for evidence. Additionally, the bill adjusts the timeline for certain reporting requirements, changing the deadline from a specific date to a period of 60 days.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Pennsylvania laws regarding sexual offenses and child safety by replacing the term "child pornography" with "child sexual abuse material" to better reflect modern digital content. It specifically addresses the creation and sharing of sexually explicit images generated by artificial intelligence, defining these new technologies and expanding legal protections to include them. The legislation also clarifies penalties for transmitting such images, adjusting some offenses from felonies to misdemeanors while introducing new categories for the abuse of minors and the unlawful dissemination of intimate images.