Nov. 21, 2017
HARRISBURG – House Judiciary Committee Majority Chairman Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) moved legislation to maximize the ability of police officers to serve and protect Pennsylvanians today during the committee’s scheduled weekly voting meeting.
“Currently, if an officer who gets a call for assistance from a fellow officer and is employed by an airport authority police department, or a transportation authority police department, or a university police department or the like, he or she has no authority to act, even if officer is fully certified and has the same mandatory training required by the Municipal Police Officer Education and Training Act,” said Marsico. “This is ludicrous to me. Today, more than ever, police agencies are dealing with a shortage of officers and need to be able to work efficiently, effectively and cooperatively.”
Under the current law, if a police officer calls for help, officers from another municipality can respond and have the full authority of their office to render assistance, even though they are outside their primary jurisdiction. Additionally under current law, if a municipal police officer is pursuing an offender who crosses the jurisdictional boundaries, he or she may pursue the offender into the other jurisdiction and have full police powers to arrest or stop the suspect. However, this authority ONLY applies to an officer who is employed by a municipality.
House Bill 1738 would correct that deficiency and permit those officers who are fully certified by Municipal Police Officer Education and Training Act (MPOETC) and have met the requirements of MPOETC’s mandatory training to act with full authority outside of their jurisdiction in the same circumstances as municipal police officers can. This would provide additional protection to officers and additional protection to the public.
“I have been working on this legislation for quite a while and have received overwhelming support of this legislation over the years by my fellow House members,” Marsico said. “I am always looking for ways to expand public safety in the Commonwealth and this measure will certainly assist in that endeavor.”
In addition to House Bill 1738, several other bills moved through the committee today:
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House Bill 983 amends the Domestic Relations Code to provide that a party who has been convicted of committing a personal injury crime against the other party shall not be eligible for spousal support or alimony pendente lite (APL) during the divorce process.
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House Bill 1644 adds a new chapter to the Judicial Code titled “Collaborative Law Process.” It creates a framework for the alternative dispute resolution process known as collaborative law, including fundamental rules pertaining to the attorneys’ role and expected behavior of the parties, mandatory and discretionary terms of a collaborative law agreement, and a description of how to begin and end the process.
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House Bill 1918 creates the new crime of possession and use of unlawful devices, relating to card skimming. The offense applies if a person, with the intent to defraud, uses or possesses a device which is designed to read and store payment card information other than for the purpose of processing the information for a financial transaction. A first offense is graded as a felony of the third degree and a second offense is a felony of the second degree.
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House Bill 1929 requires that proceeds in the First Chance Fund be used to provide a scholarship program and grants that benefit children who have been the victims of violent crime or whose parent or guardian has been the victim of a homicide or other violent crime, in addition to any other purposes for which the fund is dedicated under current law.
The legislation will now go to the full House for consideration.
Representative Ronald Marsico
105th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RonMarsico.com
Media Contact: Autumn R. Southard, 717.652.3721
asouthar@pahousegop.com