HB 1616 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in offenses against the family, further providing for the offense of dealing in infant children; and, in depositions and witnesses, providing for sentencing considerations for child victim offenders.

HB 1616 allows Pennsylvania judges to consider a child offender's prior victimization in sentencing. If a child was sexually abused (as defined by specific offenses like rape or sexual assault under state law) and committed a crime directly because of that abuse or severe emotional distress, courts may reduce or eliminate prison time, skip fines, or transfer the case to juvenile court. The law does not apply to cases involving human trafficking or if the victim did not engage in prohibited conduct. This changes sentencing for children convicted of crimes where their own abuse was a direct cause.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jun 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2026

House Passage

Jun 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jun 16, 2025 Last action Jun 22, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN1933 → Printer's No. PN3333 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly expanded to include a new crime called 'Dealing in Infant Children' while also updating the existing 'Sentencing considerations for child victim offenders' section. The scope changed from solely addressing sentencing leniency for abused children to actively criminalizing the trade, buying, or selling of infants under one year old, with specific exemptions for legal surrogacy and adoption. The definitions of prohibited sexual conduct were broadened to include additional offenses like involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual assault.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a single section in Title 42 regarding sentencing to a new, separate offense in Title 18 for trafficking infants, alongside the updated sentencing guidelines.

SCOPE

Added a new crime of 'Dealing in Infant Children' which makes it a first-degree felony to trade, barter, buy, sell, or deal in children one year of age or younger.

ELIGIBILITY

Created a specific legal exemption stating that the new dealing in infants charge does not apply to otherwise legal surrogacy or adoption arrangements.

DEFINITION

Expanded the list of 'prohibited sexual conduct' in the sentencing section to include five additional crimes, such as involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and sexual assault, beyond the original three.

TECHNICAL

Updated the bill's title, printer's number, and sponsor list to reflect amendments and the addition of the new surrogacy sponsor.

Floor votes · House Jun 16, 2026

How they voted

199–2

Passed

Total votes 201

Jun 16, 2026

D Democratic102

100 Yea 2 Nay

98% Yea

R Republican99

99 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 22, 2026

Committee

Referred to Judiciary

upper

Jun 16, 2026

Lower · Passed

Third consideration and final passage

lower

Jun 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Re-reported as committed

lower

Jun 2, 2026

Committee

Re-committed to Appropriations

lower

May 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported as amended

lower

Jun 16, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary

lower

1 primary · 9 co-sponsors