Pennsylvania 2025_0 Regular Session Status: In Committee 27 D cosponsors

HB 1902 — An Act amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses), 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) and 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the offense of ethnic intimidation; in particular rights and immunities, further providing for civil rights violations; and, in employees, further providing for definitions and providing for annual officer training on hate-based intimidation.

Last action — Laid on the table (Pursuant to House Rule 71), June 15, 2026

  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 September 30, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 27 sponsors

    1 primary, 26 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (27 D).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill amends laws related to ethnic intimidation and civil rights violations, requiring officer training on hate-based intimidation.

This bill updates Pennsylvania's laws on ethnic intimidation and civil rights, including definitions and mandates for annual training of officers on hate-based issues. It aims to enhance the response to hate crimes and improve civil rights protections.

Summary

Anti-Hate Crimes Package

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

109 added · 118 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amended version of Bill HB 1902 has expanded the definition of "malicious intention" to include discrimination based on additional categories such as gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. It also clarifies that the legislation cannot limit a person's rights to freely exercise their religion. These changes are important because they aim to strengthen protections against hate-based intimidation and ensure that civil rights are upheld for everyone, regardless of their identity.

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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO.
PRINTER'S NO.
2371 PRINTER'S NO.
2371 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL Session of No.
3032 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL Session of No.
NELSON, BENHAM, HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN, SANCHEZ, HADDOCK, BOROWSKI, SHUSTERMAN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SCHLOSSBERG, INGLIS, TAKAC, HANBIDGE, STEELE, MADDEN, BRENNAN, ABNEY AND DALEY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MARCH 19, 2026 AN ACT Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses), 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) and 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the offense of ethnic intimidation;
NELSON, BENHAM, HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN, PIELLI, HOHENSTEIN, DONAHUE, PROBST, RIVERA, MALAGARI, SANCHEZ, HADDOCK, BOROWSKI, SHUSTERMAN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SCHLOSSBERG, INGLIS, TAKAC, HANBIDGE AND STEELE, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 AN ACT Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses), 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) and 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the providing for the offense of ethnic intimidation;
in particular rights and immunities, further providing for civil definitions and providing for annual officer training onfor hate-based intimidation.
inher particular rights and immunities, further providing for civil rights violations;
and, in employees, further providing for definitions and providing for annual officer training on hate-based intimidation.
* * * (b.1) Construction.--Nothing in this section may be <-- construed to prohibit, limit or punish religiously motivated speech or conduct that is otherwise protected by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania or the act of December 9, 2002 (P.L.1701, No.214), known as the Religious Freedom Protection Act.
* * * (b.1) Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit, limit or punish religiously motivated speech or conduct that is otherwise protected by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania or the act of December 9, 2002 (P.L.1701, No.214), known as the Religious Freedom Protection Act.
SHALL BE <-- CONSTRUED TO PROHIBIT, LIMIT OR OTHERWISE PUNISH A PERSON IN THE FREE EXERCISE OR ENJOYMENT OF A RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE SECURED TO THE PERSON BY THE CONSTITUTION OR LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA OR LAWS OF THIS COMMONWEALTH.
(c) Definition.--As used in this section "malicious intention" means the intention to commit any act, the commission of which is a necessary element of any offense referred to in subsection (a) motivated by hatred toward the race, color, religion [or], national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or disability of another individual or group of individuals.
(c) Definition.--As used in this section "malicious intention" means the intention to commit any act, the commission of which is a necessary element of any offense referred to in subsection (a) motivated by hatred toward the race, color, 20250HB1902PN3032 - 2 - religion [or], national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or disability of another individual or group of individuals.
Section 8309(a) of Title 42 is amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
Section 8309(a) of Title 42 is amended and the 20250HB1902PN2371 - 2 - section is amended by adding a subsection to read:
20250HB1902PN3032 - 3 - * * * (g) Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed <-- to prohibit, limit or punish religiously motivated speech or conduct that is otherwise protected by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania or the act of December 9, 2002 (P.L.1701, No.214), known as the Religious Freedom Protection Act.
* * * (g) Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit, limit or punish religiously motivated speech or conduct that is otherwise protected by the Constitution of the 20250HB1902PN2371 - 3 - United States, the Constitution of Pennsylvania or the act of December 9, 2002 (P.L.1701, No.214), known as the Religious Freedom Protection Act.
SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PROHIBIT, LIMIT OR <-- OTHERWISE PUNISH A PERSON IN THE FREE EXERCISE OR ENJOYMENT OF A RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE SECURED TO THE PERSON BY THE CONSTITUTION OR LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE CONSTITUTION OF PENNSYLVANIA OR LAWS OF THIS COMMONWEALTH.
After the consultation, the commission and the Pennsylvania State Police shall, in consultation with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission 20250HB1902PN3032 - 4 - and the Attorney General, develop, implement and provide annual training on hate-based intimidation to officers.
After the consultation, the commission and the Pennsylvania State Police shall, in consultation with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Attorney General, develop, implement and provide annual training on hate-based intimidation to officers.
(5) Any instruction deemed necessary in recognizing enforcement-related bias.
(5) Any instruction deemed necessary in recognizing 20250HB1902PN2371 - 4 - enforcement-related bias.
20250HB1902PN3032 - 5 - (5) Probation and parole officers.
(5) Probation and parole officers.
20250HB1902PN3032 - 6 -
20250HB1902PN2371 - 5 -
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Action History

  1. Laid on the table (Pursuant to House Rule 71), June 15, 2026

  2. Removed from table, April 13, 2026

  3. Laid on the table, March 19, 2026

  4. First consideration, March 19, 2026

  5. Reported as amended, March 19, 2026

  6. Referred to JUDICIARY, Sept. 30, 2025

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 26 co-sponsors · 226 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (26)

Not signed on (226)

226 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 226 →

"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

public-safety 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 1902 do?
Anti-Hate Crimes Package
Who sponsors HB 1902?
HB 1902 is sponsored by Ismail Smith-Wade-El (Democratic), Jennifer O'Mara (Democratic), Mary Jo Daley (Democratic), Aerion Abney (Democratic), Tim Brennan (Democratic), Mandy Steele (Democratic), Liz Hanbidge (Democratic), Paul Takac (Democratic), John C. Inglis III (Democratic), Michael H. Schlossberg (Democratic), Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (Democratic), Lisa A. Borowski (Democratic), Jim Haddock (Democratic), Benjamin V. Sanchez (Democratic), Steven R. Malagari (Democratic), Nikki Rivera (Democratic), Tarah Probst (Democratic), Kyle Donahue (Democratic), Joseph C. Hohenstein (Democratic), Ben Waxman (Democratic), Carol Hill-Evans (Democratic), Jessica Benham (Democratic), Napoleon J. Nelson (Democratic), Dan Frankel (Democratic), Maureen E. Madden (Democratic), Melissa L. Shusterman (Democratic), and Chris Pielli (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 1902?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced September 30, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 1902?
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