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HB 458PENNSYLVANIASession 2025-2026State Billpassed chamber

Passed

Pennsylvania House Bill 458 Establishes Postconviction Relief Procedures for Veterans with Service-Connected Mental Health Disabilities

Original title: An Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in post-trial matters, further providing for eligibility for relief, providing for postconviction review for veterans with service-connected mental health disability and further providing for jurisdiction and proceedings; and, in sentencing, further providing for sentencing procedure for murder of the first degree.

Last action · December 22, 2025: Referred to JUDICIARY, Dec. 22, 2025Sponsors: Carol Hill-Evans and 19 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Would Do

Pennsylvania House Bill 458 allows convicted veterans with service-connected mental health disabilities to petition sentencing courts for mental health evaluations and if their condition contributed to their offense. The measure applies to individuals currently serving prison terms or facing execution and takes effect in 60 days.

Why it matters

Provides a formal legal mechanism for incarcerated veterans to introduce service-connected mental health conditions as mitigating evidence or grounds for sentence review, potentially altering outcomes in capital and non-capital criminal cases across the Commonwealth.

Background

Pennsylvania's postconviction relief statutes establish standardized time limits and eligibility criteria for individuals challenging criminal convictions or sentences. context
Veterans courts are specialized criminal court dockets designed to handle cases involving military veterans by connecting them with treatment and support services. context

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

veterans

Convicted veterans serving terms of imprisonment or facing execution gain the ability to petition for mental health evaluations and seek postconviction relief based on service-connected mental health disabilities.

Directly affected

sentencing courts

Courts must review written motions, determine evaluation eligibility, assign cases to veterans courts or trained judges, and conduct hearings on postconviction petitions.

Directly affected

Department of Corrections

The department must be informed of a petitioner's disability status and ensure appropriate protections are provided to the individual.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to request a mental health evaluation under this bill?

An individual convicted of a criminal offense in a Pennsylvania court who is serving a term of imprisonment or awaiting execution due to a death sentence may submit a written motion.

Can evaluation data be used against the applicant in future criminal investigations?

No. Data obtained from the evaluation cannot be entered into law enforcement databases, used to investigate other crimes, or used as evidence against the applicant.

What happens if the evaluation indicates the petitioner has a service-connected mental health disability?

The court and the Commonwealth must ensure the Department of Corrections is informed of the disability status and that the petitioner receives protections afforded under federal law for individuals with disabilities.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Where This Stands

Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.

Procedural history

11 actions

Dec 22, 2025SenateCommittee
Referred to JUDICIARY, Dec. 22, 2025
Dec 22, 2025Senate
In the Senate
Dec 16, 2025HouseFloor
Third consideration and final passage, Dec. 16, 2025 (102-101)
Dec 16, 2025HouseCommittee
Re-reported as committed, Dec. 16, 2025
Nov 19, 2025House
Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS, Nov. 19, 2025
Nov 19, 2025HouseFloor
Second consideration, Nov. 19, 2025

Show 5 earlier actions

Nov 19, 2025House
Removed from table, Nov. 19, 2025
Nov 17, 2025House
Laid on the table, Nov. 17, 2025
Nov 17, 2025HouseIntroduced
First consideration, Nov. 17, 2025
Nov 17, 2025HouseCommittee
Reported as committed, Nov. 17, 2025
Feb 3, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to JUDICIARY, Feb. 3, 2025

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Integration of Veteran Mental Health in Postconviction Relief

The bill bridges military veteran support mechanisms with standard judicial post-trial and sentencing procedures by allowing service-connected mental health conditions to alter sentencing and appeal timelines.

Department of Military and Veterans Affairs United States Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Corrections

Connected Entities

Supreme Court, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Department of Corrections and 1 more

OrganizationSupreme Court“Empowered to adopt rules as deemed necessary to carry out the amendments.”Map →

OrganizationDepartment of Military and Veterans Affairs“May work with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure applica”Map →

OrganizationDepartment of Corrections“Informed of a petitioner's disability status to ensure proper protections are pr”Map →

OrganizationUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs“Collaborates with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for veteran me”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.palegis.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz25
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools

What This Bill Would Do

Who It Would Affect

Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

News Coverage

Where This Stands

Procedural history

Version history

Lobbying Activity

Full breakdown

Sponsors

Discoveries

Integration of Veteran Mental Health in Postconviction Relief

Connected Entities

Sources

Analysis Score

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