Thousands of bills are introduced into the Pennsylvania General Assembly each legislative session. Each session is two years for both the House and Senate. For over a decade PYC has actively monitored the introduction of both negative and positive legislation impacting LGBTQ Pennsylvanians. In past sessions we only had a handful of well-known bills. In the sessions we have now, dozens of bills are introduced that relate to LGBTQ people across the commonwealth.
The following list is updated as of April 5, 2023. There are 33 bills that have been or are about to be introduced that would have a positive impact on LGBTQ Pennsylvanians, and 8 bills that have been or are about to be introduced that would have a negative impact on LGBTQ Pennsylvanians.
New bills are being introduced every day, so please refer to the General Assembly website here for more information.
Positive Bills
State House of Representatives
HB 575: Protection of Minors from Conversion Therapy (Benham, Kenyatta, Smith-Wade-El)
Last Action: Referred to the House Health Committee
HB 609: Removing sex designation on birth certificates (Sanchez)
Last Action: Referred to the House Health Committee
HB 610: Reform Name Change Procedures (Sanchez)
Last Action: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee
HB 637: Prohibition of the LGBTQ+ Panic Defense (Sanchez, Schlossberg)
Last Action: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee
HB 638: Name change grants (Sanchez)
Last Action: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee
HB 647: Safe Schools Partnership Act (Kinsey)
Last Action: Referred to the House Education Committee
HB 736: Hate Crimes (Boyle)
Last Action: Referred to the House Judiciary Committee
HB 758: Implicit Bias and Discrimination Training for Public Employees, Healthcare Workers, and other professionals (Rozzi)
Last Action: Referred to the House Human Services Committee
HB 803: Reproductive Rights Amendment (Otten)
Last Action: Referred to the House Health Committee
HR 1: Operating House Rules Include Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Protections (Rozzi)
Last Action: Adopted by PA House
To Be Introduced: Protecting LGBTQ Individuals from Discrimination in the Credit Service Industry (Hanbidge)
To Be Introduced: Nondiscrimination Legislation (Kenyatta, Benham, Frankel, Smith-Wade-El, Scott, Mayes)
To Be Introduced: The Protection of Trans Kids and their Families Act (Frankel)
State Senate
SB 63: Hate Crimes Legislation (Kearney)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
SB 150: Nondiscrimination Legislation (Santasiero, Saval)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Labor & Industry Committee
SB 293: Age-Appropriate Consent Education (Kearney)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Education Committee
SB 326: Data for LGBTQ+ Lives (Street)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate State Government Committee
SB 370: Grants to Help LGBTQ+ Senior Citizens (Street)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Aging and Youth Committee
SB 389: Implicit Bias and Discrimination Training for Public Employees and Healthcare Workers (Schwank)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee
SB 474: Protecting LGBTQ+ Individuals from Discrimination in the Credit Service Industry (Boscola)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee
SB 523: Removal of Sex from Birth Certificates (Kearney)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee
SB 524: Transgender Name Change Assistance Grants (Kearney)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Community, Economic, and Recreational Development Committee
SB 526: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Current Name Change Process (L. Williams)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
SB 528: Removing Publication Requirements for Name Changes (Muth)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
SB 530: Administrative Name Change Reform (Cappelletti)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
SB 535: Constitutional Amendment: Anti-Discrimination (Boscola)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate State Government Committee
SB 554: Protecting LGBTQ Students from Discrimination (L. Williams)
Last Action: Referred to the Senate Education Committee
SR 36: Recognizing February 15, 2023, as “Love is Love Day” in Pennsylvania (Santasiero)
Last Action: Referred to the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee
To Be Introduced: Prohibition of the LGBTQ+ Panic Defense (Collett)
To Be Introduced: Hate Crimes Prevention and Victims’ Rights Package (Costa)
To Be Introduced: Prohibiting Sexual Orientation Change or “Conversion” Therapy for Minors (A. Williams)
To Be Introduced: Ending Felony Prohibition for Name Changes (Muth, Cappelletti, L. Williams, Kearney)
To Be Introduced: The Protection of Trans Kids and their Parents Act (Cappelletti, Street)
Negative Bills
State House of Representatives
HB 211: “The Honesty in Teaching Act” (Gleim)
Last Action: Referred to the House Education Committee
HB 319: “Parental Rights in Education” (Borowicz)
Last Action: Referred to the House Education Committee
To Be Introduced: “Removing Obscene Material from Our School Libraries” (Gleim)
To Be Introduced: Anti-trans youth sports legislation (Gleim, White, Keefer, Borowicz)
To Be Introduced: “Classifying Drag Performances as Adult-Oriented Business” (Bernstine)
State Senate
To Be Introduced: “Improving Curriculum Transparency in K-12 Schools” (Mastriano)
To Be Introduced: “Classifying Drag Performances as Adult-Oriented Business” (Mastriano)
To Be Introduced: “Parental Control of Student Exposure to Sexually Explicit Content in Schools” (Aument)