Pennsylvania 2025_0 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 2 R · 2 D cosponsors

HB 714 — An Act amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in child custody, providing for sibling visitation rights.

Last action — Referred to JUDICIARY, Feb. 24, 2025

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 24, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Advancing 40% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 5 sponsors

    1 primary, 4 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 R · 2 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Sibling Visitation Rights

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill establishes rights for siblings to petition for visitation with their siblings in Pennsylvania.

  • Title 23

    § 5325.1. Sibling visitation rights. (a) Petition.--Upon the filing of a petition for visitation by a petitioner, or by a parent or legal guardian of a petitioner if the petitioner is not an adult and the parent or legal guardian is acting on behalf of the petitioner, the court may award reasonable visitation to the petitioner in accordance with this section. (b) Considerations.--In determining whether to award reasonable visitation to a petitioner, a court shall consider: (1) The best interests of the child in accordance with section 5328 (relating to factors to consider when awarding custody). (2) Whether the petitioner is a fit and proper individual to have visitation with the child. (3) Whether the petitioner has attempted to visit or otherwise spend time with the child during the 30 days immediately preceding the filing of the petition but was not allowed to visit or otherwise spend time with the child during that period as a direct result of the actions of an individual with physical custody of the child. (4) Whether there is any other way for the petitioner to have visitation with the child without court intervention. (5) Whether the petitioner has shown by clear and convincing evidence that the refusal, by an individual with physical custody of the child, to permit the petitioner to have visitation with the child is unreasonable. (c) Construction.--This section shall not be construed to affect any rights regarding standing or the award of custody under this chapter. (d) 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: "Petitioner." An individual who is a sibling of a child and who is seeking visitation with the child. "Sibling." A brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother or stepsister. "Visitation." As follows: (1) The right to visit or otherwise spend time with a child who is a sibling. (2) The term does not include the right to partial physical custody, primary physical custody, shared physical custody, sole physical custody or supervised physical custody.

    This added section allows siblings to petition the court for visitation rights and outlines considerations for the court to evaluate when granting visitation.

Action History

  1. Referred to JUDICIARY, Feb. 24, 2025

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 4 co-sponsors · 248 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (4)

Not signed on (248)

248 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 714 do?
Sibling Visitation Rights
Who sponsors HB 714?
HB 714 is sponsored by Parke Wentling (Republican), Nikki Rivera (Democratic), Jill N. Cooper (Republican), Amen Brown (Democratic), and Stephenie Scialabba.
What is the current status of HB 714?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 24, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 714?
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Last checked for changes 4 months ago · updated continuously

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