Regular Session 2023-2024 House Bill 0544 P.N. 1799

PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 517, 1588

PRINTER'S NO. 1799

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

544

Session of

2023

INTRODUCED BY BOROWSKI, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, SANCHEZ, BURGOS,

KENYATTA, HOWARD, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, CIRESI, FIEDLER, CERRATO,

DELLOSO, SHUSTERMAN, KINKEAD, N. NELSON, OTTEN, CONKLIN,

FLEMING, GREEN, WEBSTER, GUENST AND KHAN, MARCH 20, 2023

AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

JUNE 29, 2023

AN ACT

Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in protection from abuse, providing

for waiver of fee for corrected or duplicate State documents.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 6123. Waiver of fee for corrected or duplicate State

documents.

(a) Requirements for waiver.--A person who satisfies the

following requirements AND DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE ORIGINAL

DOCUMENT THE PERSON IS SEEKING TO REPLACE OR CORRECT is eligible

for a waiver of fees under subsections (b) and (c) if:

(1) All of the following apply:

(i) The person has been granted relief under section

6107(b) (relating to hearings) or 6108 (relating to

relief).

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(ii) The relief under subparagraph (i) was granted

no more than 90 days prior to the person applying for a

waiver under this section.

(iii) As a result of the abuse which is the subject

of the relief under subparagraph (i), the person does not

have access to the original documents that are being

replaced or corrected.

(2) The person DOES NOT QUALIFY UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) BUT

was the subject of abuse within the previous 120 days and the

abuse is verified through one of the following methods:

(i) (A) A statement by an employee, agent or

(I) A STATEMENT BY AN EMPLOYEE, AGENT OR volunteer

of a victim service provider, an attorney, a medical

professional or a mental health professional from whom

the victim has sought assistance relating to the abuse,

including the use of a standardized form under subsection

(e).

(B) A statement verifying the abuse. An

(II) A STATEMENT VERIFYING THE ABUSE. AN individual

who provides materially false information in the

statement under this clause shall be subject to a penalty

of $50 plus the fee charged for the document the

individual sought to obtain under this section.

(ii) The person has not filed a petition for relief

under this chapter regarding the abuse under paragraph

(1).

(iii) As a result of the abuse under paragraph (1),

the person does not have access to the original documents

that are being replaced or corrected.

(b) Waiver of fee by Department of Transportation.--Upon

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application of a person who qualifies under subsection (a), the

Department of Transportation shall waive the fee for a duplicate

or corrected certificate of title, photo identification card,

noncommercial driver's license, commercial driver's license,

camera card, learner's permit or registration card. A qualifying

person with dependents shall also receive a waiver of fee under

this section for a duplicate or corrected document for the

person's dependents.

of a person who qualifies under subsection (a), the Department

of Health shall waive the fee for a certified copy of birth

record. A qualifying person with dependents shall also receive a

waiver of fee under this section for a duplicate or corrected

document for the person's dependents.

(d) Implementation by agencies.--Within 90 days of the

effective date of this section, the Department of Transportation

and the Department of Health shall establish a statement of

policy providing for applications made under subsection (b) or

(c), as applicable. A statement of policy under this subsection

shall be made available on the agency's publicly accessible

Internet website and shall be reviewed by the agency at least

every five years.

(e) Forms.--The Office of Victim Advocate shall develop

standardized forms for documenting abuse and providing a method

for third party attestation of abuse under this section.

Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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