An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, in public assistance, further providing for false statements, investigations and penalty.

The penalty schedule was reorganized to clearly state that a first offense is a felony of the third degree and a second or subsequent offense is a felony of the second degree.

The definition of 'reencoder' was added to specify that it is a device that places information from an access device onto a medium where that information can be retrieved.

The ineligibility period for welfare recipients was changed from a permanent ban to a tiered system: six months for a first conviction, twelve months for a second conviction, and permanently for a third conviction.

The statute of limitations was updated from four years to five years for crimes under this section.

Added new subsections defining the possession or use of scanning devices and reencoders to steal payment card information as a criminal offense.

Established a tiered penalty schedule where a first offense is a felony of the third degree, while a second or subsequent offense is elevated to a felony of the second degree.

Changed the penalty for convicted offenders from an automatic permanent ban on cash assistance to a tiered system: six months for a first conviction, twelve months for a second, and permanent disqualification for a third.

Extended the statute of limitations for prosecuting these crimes from four years to five years.

Clarified that prior convictions, rehabilitative dispositions, or similar offenses in other jurisdictions count toward determining if an offender is a repeat violator.