HB 1412 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in child custody, further providing for modification of existing order.

HB 1412 amends Pennsylvania's child custody laws to clarify and streamline the process for modifying existing custody orders. It directly affects parents, guardians, or custodians seeking changes to court-ordered custody arrangements. The bill establishes specific criteria and procedures for when and how custody modifications can be requested, including requirements for demonstrating a significant change in circumstances. This creates a more structured framework for courts to evaluate modification requests while maintaining focus on the child's best interests.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2025

Committee Review

Jul 2025

House Passage

Jul 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced May 6, 2025 Last action Jul 14, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN1613 → Printer's No. PN2068 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill update adds a new co-sponsor to the legislation and clarifies that the bill text is now from a later printer's version. The most significant substantive change is the addition of new rules for modifying child custody orders: courts can now modify orders without requiring proof of a 'material change in circumstances' if they determine it is in the child's best interest, or if a party provides evidence of recent abuse committed after the last order. A minor typo was also corrected in the section regarding dismissal of petitions.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding child custody modification was expanded to allow for exceptions to the standard 'material change in circumstances' requirement, specifically for best interest determinations and recent abuse.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new co-sponsor, Webster, to the list of bill sponsors.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new subsection allowing courts to modify custody orders without a 'material change in circumstances' if the court determines it is in the child's best interest.

Added a provision allowing courts to treat evidence of recent abuse (committed after the last custody order) as a 'material change in circumstances' for modification purposes.

TECHNICAL

Corrected a typo in the dismissal clause where 'IN' was changed to 'circumstances'.

Updated the document header to reflect the new printer's number (PN 2068) and added a note indicating the previous version.

Floor votes · House Jul 7, 2025

How they voted

102–101

Passed

Total votes 203

Jul 7, 2025

D Democratic102

102 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican101

101 Nay

100% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jul 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary

upper

Jul 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Third consideration and final passage

lower

Jul 7, 2025

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Jul 1, 2025

Committee

Re-committed to Appropriations

lower

Jun 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported as committed

lower

May 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary

lower

1 primary · 13 co-sponsors