PRINTER'S NO. 692
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
743
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY ABNEY, RABB, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, SCHLOSSBERG,
MADDEN, D. WILLIAMS, KINKEAD, N. NELSON, KINSEY, KRAJEWSKI,
KHAN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, McANDREW, WAXMAN, BURGOS AND
INNAMORATO, MARCH 28, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 28, 2023
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in criminal history record
information, providing for unified criminal justice data
collection.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
ยง 9107. Unified criminal justice data collection.
(a) Formation of program.--The commission, in consultation
with the Pennsylvania State Police, county prosecutors' offices,
the court and the Department of Corrections, shall establish the
Unified Criminal Justice Data Collection Program to collect,
record and analyze data regarding defendants in this
Commonwealth who are 18 years of age or older at the time of the
commission of an alleged indictable offense or an offense
defined under Subchapter A of Chapter 55 (relating to definition
of offenses generally).
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(b) Data compilation.--In furtherance of the program, the
commission shall compile data collected from the time a
defendant enters the criminal justice system of the Commonwealth
by arrest, charge or other action, through the final disposition
of the defendant's case. The data shall include information
concerning the race, ethnicity, gender and age of the defendant
and be compiled in accordance with the standards of the
classification of Federal data on race and ethnicity established
by the Federal Office of Management and Budget. The data shall
include:
(1) Warrants, arrests, charges, filing of criminal
complaints and indictments.
(2) Dismissed or downgraded charges.
(3) Cases which proceed to trial and the disposition of
the cases, including convictions and guilty pleas.
(4) Admission to diversionary programs, including data
on program applications, and any prosecutorial or court
consent or denial for a defendant's entry into diversionary
programs.
(5) Cases involving victims, including the race,
ethnicity, gender and age of the defendant and victims in
those cases.
(c) Cooperation.--The Pennsylvania State Police, county
prosecutors' offices, the court, offices of Public Defender and
county and municipal police departments shall cooperate with the
commission in the implementation of the program and shall assist
in the collection, recording, compilation and provision of data
in furtherance of the program to the extent and in the manner
required by the commission.
(d) Disclosure.--Nothing in this section shall be construed
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to authorize the disclosure of any confidential or personal
identifying information.
(e) Report.--The commission shall prepare and publish an
annual report summarizing the data collected, recorded and
analyzed under this section and post the report on the publicly
accessible Internet website of the commission. No later than
August 1 of each year, the commission shall submit to the
Governor's Office, the chairperson and minority chairperson of
the Judiciary Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and
minority chairperson of the Judiciary Committee of the House of
Representatives the written report under this subsection
containing summaries of the data collected, recorded and
analyzed pursuant to this section. The commission shall also
make recommendations as appropriate for legislative changes or
improvements that could be made to the criminal justice system
based on its findings.
(f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Commission." The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency of the Commonwealth.
"Court." The minor judiciary or any other court in this
Commonwealth.
"Indictable offense." An offense other than a summary
offense.
"Personal identifying information." The name and aliases,
address, Social Security number, telephone number, fascimile
number, driver's license number or email address or social media
address of any defendant or victim.
"Program." The Unified Criminal Justice Data Collection
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Program established under this section.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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