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Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania requires electronic device dealers to obtain sheriff licenses, log transactions, and hold items
Last action · January 23, 2025: Referred to JUDICIARY, Jan. 23, 2025Sponsors: Ryan Bizzarro and 9 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Pennsylvania House Bill 293 requires used electronic device dealers to obtain an annual sheriff-issued license, record seller identification, mail details to prosecutors, and hold purchased items for five days. The measure imposes third-degree misdemeanor penalties for unlicensed operations or violations, and applies statewide once the Attorney General promulgates regulations.
Dealers who buy or take used electronics for resale must pay up to $50 annually for a license, verify seller IDs with photocopies, submit daily reports to law enforcement, and store items untouched for at least five days, with harsher penalties including license revocation and a five-year ban for violations.
- House Bill 293 was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on January 23, 2025, and referred to the Judiciary Committee. 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.
Dealers of electronic devices
Dealers must pay an annual fee, obtain a sheriff's license, maintain detailed transaction and ID records, and hold items for specified waiting periods.
County sheriffs
Sheriffs are responsible for issuing annual licenses and collecting license fees into the county treasury.
District attorneys and police departments
Law enforcement agencies receive daily transaction records and inspect dealer premises and retained inventory.
Minors selling electronic devices
Sellers under 18 years of age are subject to a three-business-day waiting period before receiving payment for items.
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 must obtain a license under this bill?
How long must dealers hold purchased electronic devices before selling or altering them?
What happens if a dealer purchases electronic devices without a license?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Jan 23, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to JUDICIARY, Jan. 23, 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.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Statewide Regulatory Shift for Used Electronics Dealers
The bill shifts oversight of used electronic device dealers from local-only ordinances to a standardized statewide framework involving county sheriffs and the Attorney General.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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