PRINTER'S NO. 3026
No. 2118 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY SABATINA, McGEEHAN, BUXTON, COHEN, CRUZ, GEIST,
HARHAI, HORNAMAN, W. KELLER, MELIO, MYERS, PARKER, PETRONE,
READSHAW, SHIMKUS, SONNEY, WATSON, YOUNGBLOOD, DALEY,
GOODMAN, HERSHEY, JOSEPHS, LEACH, MOYER, O'NEILL, PAYTON AND
ROEBUCK, DECEMBER 13, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, DECEMBER 13, 2007
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 44 (Law and Justice) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for safety equipment for law
3 enforcement officers.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 44 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a part to read:
8 PART IV
9 LAW ENFORCEMENT
10 Chapter
11 41. Preliminary Provisions (Reserved)
12 43. Safety Equipment
13 CHAPTER 41
14 PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
15 (Reserved)
16 CHAPTER 43
17 SAFETY EQUIPMENT
1 Sec.
2 4301. Definitions.
3 4302. Provision of vests.
4 § 4301. Definitions.
5 The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
6 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
7 context clearly indicates otherwise:
8 "Commissioner." The Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State
9 Police.
10 "Law enforcement officer." Any person who by virtue of the
11 person's office or public employment is vested by law with the
12 duty to maintain public order and to make arrests for offenses,
13 whether that duty extends to all offenses or is limited to
14 specific offenses.
15 "Vest." A soft body armor vest which complies with the
16 provisions of this chapter.
17 § 4302. Provision of vests.
18 (a) Requirements.--Every law enforcement officer shall be
19 provided with a vest by his or her employer. Each vest shall be
20 of a type commonly known or classified as Type I, Type IIA, Type
21 II or Type IIIA in such standard classification systems as the
22 National Institute of Justice standards for ballistic and knife
23 resistance of police body armor and shall provide front, back
24 and side protection. Any vest which does not meet the
25 requirements of this section shall be immediately discarded and
26 replaced with a vest which complies with this section. Every
27 employer shall conduct monthly inspections to ensure that the
28 vests worn by its law enforcement officers are in compliance
29 with this section
30 (b) Regulations.--The commissioner shall promulgate
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1 regulations prescribing standards and specifications for vests.
2 In promulgating the regulations, the commissioner shall give due
3 consideration to all of the following:
4 (1) The maximum total weight of a vest which provides
5 adequate protection against ballistic and knife penetration
6 and trauma and which may be worn in comfort throughout an
7 eight-hour tour of duty.
8 (2) The ballistic specifications which the vest or any
9 part thereof must be capable of defeating which shall include
10 the ballistic specifications of any firearms considered to be
11 standard issue to eligible law enforcement officers.
12 (3) The knife perforation specifications which the vest
13 or any part thereof must be capable of defeating.
14 (4) The requirement that vests shall provide front, back
15 and side protection.
16 (5) The testing procedures appropriate for determining
17 the effectiveness of the vests.
18 (6) The labeling requirements for the vests and
19 component parts thereof.
20 (7) The commercial availability of conforming vests.
21 (c) Civil penalty.--Any employer that fails to provide a
22 vest under this section shall pay a civil penalty of $1,000 for
23 each vest that is not provided.
24 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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