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HB 331PENNSYLVANIASession 2025-2026State BillSigned into law

Enacted

Pennsylvania increases judicial registration fees, redirects court costs to legal aid accounts, and mandates performance audit

Original title: An Act amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in budget and finance, further providing for expenses; in facilities and supplies, further providing for deposits into account; and, in access to justice, providing for performance audit of account.

Last action · February 4, 2026: Act No. 1 of 2026, Feb. 4, 2026Sponsors: Tim Briggs and 23 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Does

Pennsylvania House Bill 331 doubles the annual registration fee paid by the Office of the Court Administrator to $400 per judge, redirects certain court costs charged by s into a through June 30, 2028, and mandates a of the account by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee by June 15, 2026.

Why it matters

Alters the funding streams for judicial education and civil legal aid services by shifting specific court-cost revenues into restricted accounts and requiring an official audit of fee assessments and collections.

Background

Pennsylvania House Bill 331 amends Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. context

Who It Affects

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

Directly affected

Magisterial district judges

Their authorized positions are tied to annual registration fee payments and their charged costs are subject to temporary redirection into a restricted account.

Directly affected

Civil legal aid services providers

They are recipients of money collected under Chapter 42, which is examined through a mandatory performance audit and affected by fund deposit changes.

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

What is the new annual registration fee amount paid for judges?

The annual registration fee is $400, increased from the previous amount of $200.

When does the requirement to deposit certain magisterial district judge costs into the restricted account expire?

This requirement expires on June 30, 2028.

By what date must the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee submit the performance audit?

The audit must be submitted no later than June 15, 2026.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

28 actions

Feb 4, 2026Governor of Pennsylvania
Act No. 1 of 2026, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026Governor of PennsylvaniaEnrolled
Approved by the Governor, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026Governor of PennsylvaniaEnrolled
Presented to the Governor, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026Senate
Signed in Senate, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026House
Signed in House, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026HouseFloor
House concurred in Senate amendments, Feb. 4, 2026 (187-11)

Show 22 earlier actions

Feb 4, 2026House
Re-reported on concurrence, as committed, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026HouseCommittee
Referred to RULES, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026House
In the House
Feb 4, 2026SenateFloor
Third consideration and final passage, Feb. 4, 2026 (46-2)
Feb 4, 2026SenateCommittee
Re-reported as committed, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 4, 2026SenateCommittee
Re-referred to APPROPRIATIONS, Feb. 4, 2026
Feb 3, 2026Senate
Re-reported as amended, Feb. 3, 2026
Feb 3, 2026Governor of PennsylvaniaCommittee
Re-referred to RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, Feb. 3, 2026
Feb 3, 2026SenateFloor
Second consideration, Feb. 3, 2026
Feb 2, 2026SenateIntroduced
First consideration, Feb. 2, 2026
Feb 2, 2026Senate
Reported as amended, Feb. 2, 2026
Jan 30, 2026SenateCommittee
Referred to JUDICIARY, Jan. 30, 2026
Jan 30, 2026Senate
In the Senate
Jan 28, 2026HouseFloor
Third consideration and final passage, Jan. 28, 2026 (147-52)
Jan 28, 2026HouseCommittee
Re-reported as committed, Jan. 28, 2026
Dec 17, 2025House
Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS, Dec. 17, 2025
Dec 17, 2025HouseFloor
Second consideration, with amendments, Dec. 17, 2025
Dec 16, 2025House
Removed from table, Dec. 16, 2025
Jun 2, 2025House
Laid on the table, June 2, 2025
Jun 2, 2025HouseIntroduced
First consideration, June 2, 2025
Jun 2, 2025HouseCommittee
Reported as committed, June 2, 2025
Jan 27, 2025HouseCommittee
Referred to JUDICIARY, Jan. 27, 2025

Version history & redline

4 versions on file

Comparing Printer's No. 2848 → Printer's No. 2859

removed addedOfficial text

SENATE AMENDED PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 286, 2718 2718, 2848 PRINTER'S NO. 2848 2859 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL No. 331 Session of 2025 INTRODUCED BY BRIGGS, SCHLOSSBERG, HANBIDGE, GIRAL, CEPEDA- FREYTIZ, FREEMAN, DOUGHERTY, SANCHEZ, PIELLI, HILL-EVANS, HOWARD, DONAHUE, KHAN, NEILSON, WARREN, CIRESI, FLEMING, OTTEN, CERRATO, WAXMAN, GREEN, K.HARRIS K. HARRIS AND SOLOMON, JANUARY 27, 2025 SENATOR BAKER, JUDICIARY, PITTMAN, RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, IN SENATE, RE- REPORTED AS AMENDED, FEBRUARY 2, 3, 2026 AN ACT Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in budget and finance, further providing for expenses; and, […]

Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →

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.

Related Legislation

State Bill

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Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

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

policy shift95% confidence

Temporary Redirection of Court Costs

Magisterial district judge costs normally paid to the Commonwealth are temporarily directed into a restricted account from July 1, 2025, until June 30, 2028.

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

Connected Entities

Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts Board, Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Legislative Budget and Finance Committee and 2 more

OrganizationPennsylvania Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts Board“Consulted during the completion of the performance audit.”Map →

otherPennsylvania Consolidated Statutes“Title 42 amended by the bill regarding budget and finance, facilities and suppli”Map →

OrganizationLegislative Budget and Finance Committee“Required to conduct and submit a performance audit of the account no later than ”Map →

OrganizationOffice of the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania“Pays annual registration fees and publishes monthly journals for judicial update”Map →

OrganizationSpecial Court Judges of Pennsylvania Association“Receives annual registration fee payments from the Office of the Court Administr”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.palegis.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance60
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz15
Current news / social attention level

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