Legislation

Ricky’s Pride is committed to building a more equitable society for people of all backgrounds. With your generous donations and support, we aim to improve conditions for the LGBTQIA+ community. The following pages elaborate on our legislative priorities:

Current Pennsylvania House & Senate Bills

Current as of 5/6/2022

LGBTQ+ Bills – 2021-2022 Legislative Session

Senate Bills

  • SB 570 (Santarsiero, Saval) – Nondiscrimination legislation amending the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • Transgender Name Change Package (Cappelletti, Kearney, Muth, L. Williams)
  • SB 1145 – Removal of Sex from Birth Certificates
  • SB 1146 – Transgender Name Change Assistance Grants
  • SB 1149 – Navigating PA’s Current Name Change Process
  • SB 1150 – Administrative Name Change Reform
  • SB 1154 – Removing Publication Requirements for Name Changes
  • SB 1155 – Ending Felony Prohibition for Name Changes
  • SB 436 (Street) – Requires state forms that collect demographic info to contain voluntary LGBTQ+ identifier question for respondents.  Intent is to understand LGBTQ+ community to allow the General Assembly to make better policy decisions based on community data. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 437 (Street) – LGBTQ+ senior citizen grants program. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 663 (Boscola) – Amends the Pennsylvania Credit Services Act to include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression as a “prohibited activity” for discriminatory practices by a credit service company. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 26 (A. Williams) – Bans state-licensed mental health professionals from engaging in sexual orientation “reparative” or “conversion” therapy with minors, otherwise referred to as sexual orientation change efforts. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 1006 (Hughes) – Amends Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for solitary confinement reporting, with definition of “member of a vulnerable population” including an inmate who is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. 
  • SB 685 (Kane) – Amends Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for solitary confinement, with definition of “member of a vulnerable population” including an inmate who is perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 1092 (Kearney) – An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in terms and courses of study, providing for consent education.
  • Hate Crimes Prevention and Victims Rights Package (Costa)
    • SB 710 – Requirement for Hate Crimes Offenders to Complete Diversity Classes and Allowing Community Impact Statements (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
    • No bill # – Providing the Attorney General with Concurrent Jurisdiction in Crimes Involving Ethnic Intimidation
    • SB 711 – MPOETC Training on Investigating, Identifying and Reporting Crimes of Ethnic Intimidation
    • SB 712 – Reporting System for Postsecondary Institutions (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
    • No bill # – Private Right of Action for Civil Rights Violation
    • SB 713 – Hate Groups Database
  • SB 854 (Collett) – Prohibits the use of any LGBTQ+ panic defense (previously known as and introduced under “gay panic” and “trans panic” defense) in this Commonwealth.
  • SB 609 (Kearney) – Removes references to homosexuality in Title 18 Chapter 59, where it is unnecessarily included in the definition of sexual activity in section 5902, and in the definition of sexual conduct in regards to obscene materials in section 5903. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 63 (Kearney) – Recognizes that hate crimes are not limited to attacks based upon a person’s ethnicity and renames the statute “Hate-based Intimidation”. (Sen. Collett co-sponsor)
  • SB 1191 (J. Ward) – An Act providing for sport activities in public institutions of higher education and public school entities to be expressly designated male, female or coed; and creating causes of action for harm suffered by designation aka “Protecting Women’s Sports”
  • SB 700 (Bartolotta) – An Act establishing the Pennsylvania Commission on African American Affairs, the Pennsylvania Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, the Pennsylvania Commission on Latino Affairs, the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs and the Pennsylvania Commission on Women; establishing the Commonwealth Commissions Fund; and providing for powers and duties. 
  • No bill # (Aument) – Requires schools to identify sexually explicit content in school curriculum, materials, and books and notify parents that their child’s coursework includes such content or that a book their child wishes to view in the school library contains explicit content. 
  • SB 996 (Mastriano) – Codifies a parent’s right to access and review all school records related to their child, a right to review all instructional materials used throughout the school year, and the right to opt out their child from certain curriculum that the parent finds to be objectionable or harmful.

House Bills

  • HB 729 (Sims)- An Act prohibiting mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with an individual under 18 years of age.
  • HB 1384 (Kenyatta) – An Act providing for the use of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identifier in all Commonwealth agency or entity blanks, forms, documents and applications.  
  • HB 2173 (Innamorato) – An Act establishing the Office of New Pennsylvanians and providing for its powers and duties; and establishing the Advisory Committee to Office of New Pennsylvanians and providing for its powers, duties and membership, including equities for LGBTQ.
  • HB 2454 (Krueger) An Act amending the act of May 17, 1921 (P.L.682, No.284), known as The Insurance Company Law of 1921, in casualty insurance, providing for contraceptive coverage. Limiting coverage to women potentially impacts transgender and nonbinary people.
  • HB 1415 (Sims) – Teaching LGBTQ+ History.
  • HB 1301 (Burgos) – Establishing the Pennsylvania Socially Diverse Farmers Commission.

HB 1037 (T. Davis) is companion to Kane SB 685

HB 836 (Schweyer) is companion to SB 437 Street

Non Discrimination Ordinances

Current discrimination legislation does not protect individuals from discrimination based on gender expression, or sexual orientation. In order to ensure that individuals in the LGBTQIA+ have an equal opportunity for jobs, housing, social programs, and safety, Ricky’s Pride is working with local, state, and federal organizations to pass both non-discrimination ordinances and laws. Given that Republicans currently have control of the Pennsylvania state Legislature, non-discrimination ordinances are the best way to protect LGBTQIA+ individuals until there is a state-wide law against discrimination.

We applaud the following Montgomery County Municipalities for establishing non-discrimination ordinances and hope that their work
inspires others to follow their lead. Sponsors and dates passed indicated in parenthesis. To view each ordinance, click on the municipality.

Montgomery County

Commissioner Lori Schreiber introducing the Non-Discrimination Ordinance in Abington Township

Bucks County coming soon

(Source- Movement Advancement Project)

CREATING AND FUNDING COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS

LGBTQIA-focused programs should be funded by local municipalities and managed by members of the LGBT+ community to ensure that each program is successful in meeting the needs of the LGBT+ community

LGBTQIA-INCLUSIVE HEALTH EDUCATION REFORM

Ensuring that LGBT+ youth receive an accurate, science-based education

ENSURING AN EQUITABLE RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Specifically, persons that are most often forgotten in legislation including members of the following communities: LGBTQIA+, women, people of color, those with disabilities, the deaf and hard of hearing, and the poor.

PASSING THE PA STATE EQUALITY BILL

Passing a package of three bills to realign Federal LGBT+ protections with Pennsylvania state law so that the people of Pennsylvania can no longer be discriminated against for gender identity or sexual orientation in regard to housing or public accommodations. These bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate but have not been put to the floor for a vote. Source

REMOVING BARRIERS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE LGBT+ COMMUNITY AND THE GOVERNING BODY

Establishing and maintaining open lines of communication between the community and its’ governing body to ensure that legislators remain accountable to the people that they represent.

OPPOSING JUDICIAL GERRYMANDERING

Ensure that judicial gerrymandering is not passed so that judges are accountable to the law and not to voters in gerrymandered districts.

Passing Congressional H.R. 1423– the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act

The FAIR Act would allow individuals, workers, and small businesses to pursue legal action in the case of discrimination even if a non-disclosure agreement, or other legal agreement, had been signed

Passing H.R. 5- The Equality Act

The Equality Act would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation on the federal level. This bill is stalled in the Senate

ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY

Ricky’s Pride is working to end the dangerous and anti-science practice of conversion therapy throughout the nation

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Ricky’s Pride PAC
PO Box 312

Lansdale, PA 19446

[email protected]

Donate


If you’d like to donate by check, please make the payable to Ricky’s Pride PAC and mail to:

PO Box 312

Lansdale, PA 19446

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