HB 713 Pennsylvania House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

An Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in particular rights and immunities, further providing for scope of subchapter.

HB 713 amends Pennsylvania law to protect individuals who disclose sexual offenses or abuse by expanding legal safeguards for such communications. It defines "protected public expression" to include non-malicious disclosures about sexual violence under Pennsylvania law (23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6102, 62A03) and explicitly states that reporting these incidents should not be chilled by lawsuits. The bill excludes claims under protection-from-abuse laws (23 Pa.C.S. Chapter 61) and sexual violence statutes (Chapter 62A) from certain legal challenges. This creates a clearer legal shield for people reporting sexual violence without altering existing protections for victims.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 24, 2025 Last action Feb 4, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Printer's No. PN0732 → Printer's No. PN2872 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to update sponsor names, add new sponsors, and change the effective date section number. The substantive policy content regarding protected public expression and insurance law exclusions remained unchanged.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; only administrative updates to sponsors and effective date formatting.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill version number from PN 0732 to PN 2872 and marked the previous version as prior.

Added new sponsors (Shusterman, Green, Hanbridge) to the list of bill sponsors.

TIMELINE

Changed effective date section from Section 4 to Section 4 2, though the 90-day effective period remains the same.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported as amended

lower

Feb 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Judiciary

lower

1 primary · 12 co-sponsors