The following chart shows the status of legislation introduced in the 2019-2020 session of the Pennsylvania legislature that might be of interest to estate and trust practitioners. (The charts of 2015-2016 legislation and 2017-2018 legislation have been archived.) Click on the bill number to see the history or text of the bill. (Includes actions through 11/25/2020)
| Bill | Purpose/Subject | Adds/Amends | Last House Action | Last Senate Action | Act |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 30 | Doubles the allowable contribution to the Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund for two year renewals of vehicle registrations | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 8621(b)(1) | Third consideration and final passage (4/15/19); House concurred in Senate Amendments (11/19/20) | Third consideration and final passage (11/17/20) | Act 115 (11/25/20) |
| HB 77 | Repeals the inheritance tax | Repeals Article XXI of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (1/28/2019) | ||
| HB 262 | Sets inheritance tax rate of 0% for transfers to children under 21 (was HB 291 of 2017); Allows revocable trust to be treated as part of estate for income tax purposes | Amends §§ 2116 and 331(g) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Third consideration and final passage (4/15/19); House concurred in Senate Amendments (6/28/19) | Reported by Appropriations as amended; third consideration and final passage (6/27/19) | Act 13 (6/28/2019) |
| HB 397 | Allows consensual electronic monitoring in health care facilities (was HB 2578 of 2017) | Adds Chapter 8-A to Health Care Facilities Act, No. 48 of 1979 | Referred to Health (4/25/19) | ||
| HB 398 | Creates a private cause of action for certain financial crimes (was HB 2579 of 2017) | Amends Older Adult Protective Act | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Services (5/2/19) | ||
| HB 399 | Allows for concurrent jurisdiction of Attorney General for financial exploitation investigations (was HB 2579 of 2017) | Adds 18 Pa.C.S. § 3922.1 | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Services (5/2/19) | ||
| HB 400 | Prohibits abuse of care dependent individuals through social media (was HB 2582 of 2017) | Amends 18 Pa.C.S. § 2713.1 | Re-reported as committee from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (6/10/20) | Referred to Judiciary (6/17/20) | |
| HB 535 | Protection of elders from abuse through powers of attorney | amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 5601 and 5604 | Referred to Judiciary (2/19/19) | ||
| HB 597 | Voids non-compete clauses by purely public charities | Amends Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act, No. 55 of 1997 | Referred to Finance (3/1/19) | ||
| HB 655 | Exempts transfers of $250,000 or less from inheritance tax (Was HB 143 of 2017) | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/1/19) | ||
| HB 706 | Allows revocable trusts to be treated as part of estate for income tax purposes | Adds § 336.3 to the Tax Reform Act of 1971 | Third consideration and final passage (4/16/19) | Referred to Finance (4/22/19) | Became part of Act 13 (6/28/19) |
| HB 725 | Exempts transfers of $100,000 or less from inheritance tax (Was HB 143 of 2017) | Amends § 2106 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/6/19) | ||
| HB 734 | Provides criteria for hospitals as institutions of purely public charity | Amends section 2(b) of Article VIII of the Pennsylvania Constitution | Referred to Insurance (3/12/19) | ||
| HB 831 | Adds "granges" as a criteria for a purely public charity (was HB 2094 of 2017) | Amends section 5 of the Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act | Referred to Finance (3/14/19) | ||
| HB 899 | Allows guardians of incapacitated persons to make mental health care decisions | New 20 Pa.C.S. § 5521(d.1) | Referred to Judiciary (3/20/19) | ||
| HB 987 | Enacts new provisions for "Pennsylvania orders for life-sustaining treatment" (POLST) (was HB 1196 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and adds a new Subchapter F | Referred to Health (3/27/19) | ||
| HB 1207 | Exempts from realty transfer tax transfers of property by heirs with income at or below poverty line | Amends § 1102-C.3 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (4/15/19) | ||
| HB 1222 | Consolidates Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act and Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act into Title 20 Pa.C.S. | Enacts 10 Pa.C.S. Ch. 1, 11, 13, and 23, and repeals Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act and Institutions of Purely Public Charity Act | Re-reported as committed from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (6/19/19) | Second consideration and re-referred to Appropriations (10/23/19) | |
| HB 1286 | Requires long-term nursing facilities to publish ratings | Amends § 809 of Health Care Facilities Act, No. 48 of 1979 | Referred to Health (4/25/19) | ||
| HB 1287 | Creates a Culture and Quality of Life Certification Program | Adds a § 822 to Health Care Facilities Act, No. 48 of 1979 | Referred to Health (4/25/19) | ||
| HB 1676 | Allows advertisement of grant of letters through the website of the Register of Wills instead of by a newspaper of general circulation | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3162(a) | Referred to Judiciary (6/25/19) | ||
| HB 1724 | Allows intestate heirs to receive unclaimed property without letters | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(e), | Referred to Judiciary (7/16/19) | ||
| HB 1769 | Allows charities to fund gift annuities through commercial annuities | Amends Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act | Third consideration and final passage (5/14/20) | Reported as committed by Banking and Insurance; first consideration (9/21/20) | |
| HB 1826 | Reduces financial statement requirements certain charities | Adds §§ 3 and 5 of the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act | Referred to Finance (9/17/19) | ||
| HB 1845 | Adds elder abuse to forfeitures of intestacy and modifications of wills | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 2106 and 2507 and Ch. 88 | Referred to Judiciary (9/23/19) | ||
| HB 1884 | Sets inheritance tax rate of 0% for transfers to children with disabilities | Amends §§ 2102 and 2116 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (9/26/19) | ||
| HB 2209 | Requires background checks for court-appointed guardians | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 5511(f) and adds new subsection (g) | Referred to Aging and Older Adult Service (1/13/20) | ||
| HB 2336 | Exempts from realty transfer tax transfers by an individual to an entity wholly owned the individual or spouse | Amends § 1102-C.3 of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (3/10/20) | ||
| HB 2370 | Electronic notarization of documents | Amends 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 62 and 57 Pa.C.S. § 320 | Third consideration and final passage (4/29/20); concurs in Senate amendments (10/21/20) | Third consideration and final passage (10/20/20) | Act 97 (10/29/2020) |
| HB 2408 | Exempts CARES Act payments and loan forgiveness from state and local taxation, and amends provisions for percentage distributions from charitable trusts and nonprofit corporations | Adds § 104-A and 105-A to the Fiscal Code | Third consideration and final passage (5/4/20) | Second consideration; Re-referred to Appropriations (5/12/20) | |
| HB 2446 | Excludes pensions from effects of divorce | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 6111.2(a)(2) | Referred to Judiciary (4/27/20) | ||
| HB 2484 | Amends provisions for percentage distributions from charitable trusts and nonprofit corporations | Amends 15 Pa.C.S. § 5548 and 20 Pa.C.S. § 8113 | House concurred in Senate amendments (7/14/20) | Re-reported as committed from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (7/14/20) | Act 71 (7/23/20) |
| HB 2858 | Parent "estranged" from adult child forfeits intestate share of child's estate | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. § 2106 | Referred to Judiciary (9/14/20) | ||
| SB 23 | Guardianship reform (similar to S.B. 884 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 751 and 752, Ch. 55 | Referred to Judiciary (4/3/2020) | ||
| SB 27 | Phases out inheritance tax on siblings | Amends § 2116(a)(1.3) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Referred to Finance (1/11/19) | ||
| SB 28 | Phases out inheritance tax on lineal descendants and ancestors | Amends § 2116(a)(1) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971 | Re-referred to Appropriations (6/24/19) | ||
| SB 142 | Implements Pa. Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 and enacts new Subchapter F | Referred to Health and Human Services (1/31/19) | ||
| SB 187 | Provides for a state-wide registry of living wills | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 54 | Referred to Judiciary (2/1/19) | ||
| SB 320 | Enacts the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. (Was SB 827 of 2017) | Amends 20 Pa.C.S. §§ 711 and 5601.4 and adds new 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 | Re-reported from Appropriations; third consideration and final passage (7/7/20) | Third consideration and final passage (10/28/19) | Act 72 (7/23/20) |
| SB 342 | Sets inheritance tax rate of 0% for transfers to children under 21 (Was SB 598 of 2017) | Amends Section 2116(a) of the Tax Reform Code of 1971. | Referred to Finance (2/27/19) | ||
| SB 841 | Addresses problems arising from COVID-19 pandemic, including remote notarization | Enacts 35 Pa.C.S. Ch. 57 providing various forms of tax and procedural relief during the COVID-19 disaster declaration | House concurred in Senate amendments to House amendments (4/14/20) | Senate concurred in House amendments, as amended (4/7/20) | Act 15 (4/20/20) |
| SB 879 | Reduces financial statement requirements for charities using professional fundraisers | Amends the Solicitation of Funds for Charitable Purposes Act | Referred to State Government (10/7/19) | ||
| SB 903 | Allows "de-risking" annuity contracts | Amends Charitable Gift Annuity Exemption Act, No. 127 of 1996 | Referred to Banking and Insurance (10/18/19) | ||
| SB 924 | Provides a simplified procedure for guardianships for adult children disabled during minority | Adds new Subchapter G to 20 Pa.C.S. Ch. 55 | Reported as amended from to Judiciary; first consideration (10/29/19) | ||
| SB 1097 | Remote notarization of documents | Amends 57 Pa.C.S. §§ 304 and 320 and adds § 314.1 | Referred to Commerce (4/29/20) | Third consideration and final passage (4/28/20) | |
| SB 1100 | Excludes CARES Act payments for programs or services within income qualifications | Adds § 104-A to the Fiscal Code | Second consideration; re-referred to Appropriations (5/12/20) |
