PRINTER'S NO. 232
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.287
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY BRIGGS, SANCHEZ, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, BURGOS, GUENST,
KHAN, GIRAL, SCHLOSSBERG, MALAGARI, HILL-EVANS, HOWARD,
DONAHUE, CIRESI, KENYATTA AND DEASY, JANUARY 23, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
JANUARY 23, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection , for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
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32 other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
Commonwealth," in additional special funds and restricted
accounts, establishing the Survivor-Centered, Accessible,
Fair and Empowering Housing Trust Fund; and making an
interfund transfer.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Article XVII-A.1 of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by
adding a subarticle to read:
SUBARTICLE K
SURVIVOR-CENTERED, ACCESSIBLE, FAIR AND
EMPOWERING HOUSING TRUST FUND
Section 1795-A.1. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this subarticle
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Agency." The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
"Department." The Department of Transportation of the
Commonwealth.
"Domestic violence program." As defined in 23 Pa.C.S. ยง 6102
(relating to definitions). The term includes a culturally
specific organization that has a substantive partnership with a
domestic violence program.
"Fund." The Survivor-Centered, Accessible, Fair and
Empowering Housing Trust Fund established under section 1796-
A.1.
"Housing program." A project designed to provide emergency,
transitional and permanent housing, along with related support
services to facilitate movement toward living as independently
as possible.
"Immediate family member." An adoptive child, biological
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33 child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, brother, sister,
stepbrother, stepsister, half brother or half sister currently
living with a victim or survivor of domestic violence, sexual
assault, dating violence, human trafficking or stalking.
"Rape crisis program." A nonprofit organization or program
which has a primary purpose to provide confidential services to
sexual violence victims, which include the following:
(1) Survivor services, such as crisis intervention,
crisis hotlines, counseling and therapy, legal and medical
advocacy.
(2) Community services, including information and
referrals, prevention education, community awareness,
professional training and outreach and institutional advocacy
in legal, medical, educational, housing and employment areas.
"Target population." Victims and survivors of domestic
violence, sexual assault, dating violence, human trafficking and
stalking and immediate family members of victims and survivors.
Section 1796-A.1. Survivor-Centered, Accessible, Fair and
Empowering Housing Trust Fund.
(a) Establishment.--The Survivor-Centered, Accessible, Fair
and Empowering Housing Trust Fund is established as a separate
fund in the State Treasury.
(b) Purpose.--The fund is established for the following
purposes:
(1) To provide the target population with access to
emergency, transitional and permanent housing programs in
order to reduce homelessness and housing instability. Housing
programs and services shall be available to the target
population regardless of an individual's sex, gender identity
or sexual orientation.
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30 (2) To promote a policy of housing as a right, rather
than requiring survivors to demonstrate housing readiness as
a prerequisite for obtaining permanent housing.
Section 1797-A.1. Sources of revenue.
(a) Transfer.--On the effective date of this subsection, the
sum of $1,000,000 shall be transferred from the General Fund to
the fund.
(b) Additional surcharge.--
(1) In addition to any fee, charge or cost authorized by
law, an additional fee of $10 shall be charged and collected
by the recorder of deeds and clerks of court or by any
official designated to perform similar functions on each
filing of a deed or mortgage.
(2) All money received under paragraph (1) shall be
transferred by the recorder of deeds and clerks of court
collecting the fee to the State Treasurer for deposit into
the fund.
(c) Contributions.--
(1) Within one year of the effective date of this
paragraph, the department shall provide for all of the
following:
(i) The ability of an individual renewing a driver's
license or identification card electronically through the
department's publicly accessible Internet website to make
a contribution of $5 to the fund.
(ii) The ability of a person renewing a vehicle
registration electronically through the department's
publicly accessible Internet website to make a
contribution of $5 to the fund.
(2) The contributions shall be implemented as follows:
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30 (i) A contribution under paragraph (1) shall be
added, as appropriate, to the regular fee for a renewal
of a driver's license or identification card and a
renewal of a vehicle registration.
(ii) A contribution under paragraph (1) may be made
for each renewal of a driver's license or identification
card and each renewal of a vehicle registration.
(3) Contributions under paragraph (1) shall be used
exclusively for the purposes of the fund under section 1796-
A.1(b).
(4) The department shall determine on a monthly basis
the total amount collected under this subsection and report
that amount to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall
transfer that amount from the Motor License Fund to the fund.
(5) The fund shall reimburse the Motor License Fund for
the actual costs incurred by the department in the
administration of paragraph (1).
(6) The department shall provide adequate information
concerning the contribution to the fund in the department's
instructions for the renewal applicants under paragraph (1).
The information shall include the listing of an address
furnished by the agency to which contributions may be sent by
individuals wishing to make additional contributions.
(d) Other contributions.--Any grants, gifts, donations and
other payments from an individual or government entity may be
accepted as a contribution to the fund.
Section 1798-A.1. Use of fund.
(a) Authorization.--
(1) The agency shall administer the fund and have the
power to allocate revenue from the fund for any purpose
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30 consistent with this subarticle.
(2) The agency shall allocate revenue from the fund to
reimburse the Motor License Fund under section 1797-A.1(c)
(5).
(b) Grants.--
(1) The agency shall allocate revenue from the fund to
provide grants to domestic violence programs or rape crisis
programs that operate housing programs for the target
population. A domestic violence program or rape crisis
program receiving a grant under this paragraph shall offer
any of the following to the target population:
(i) Affordable housing.
(ii) Relocation services.
(iii) Rent or rental subsidies.
(iv) Stipends for security deposits, furniture and
any other housing-related needs.
(v) Financing options to facilitate homeownership.
(vi) Any other service determined by the agency to
provide housing options.
(2) When allocating revenue from the fund under
paragraph (1), the agency shall address and identify
geographical areas where target populations have been
underserved, disadvantaged and prevented from accessing safe,
stable and permanent housing.
(c) Operation.--
(1) The agency shall adopt a statement of policy
consistent with this subarticle within 60 days of the
effective date of this paragraph. The statement of policy
shall be transmitted to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
publication in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania
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30 Bulletin, but shall not be subject to review under any of the
following:
(i) Section 205 of the act of July 31, 1968
(P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth
Documents Law.
(ii) Sections 204(b) and 301(10) of the act of
October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the
Commonwealth Attorneys Act.
(iii) The act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181),
known as the Regulatory Review Act.
(2) At a minimum, the statement of policy shall provide
information on the maintenance of the fund, the criteria used
by the agency to determine eligibility for the allocation of
revenue from the fund and the procedures by which a program
may request funding.
(3) No less than once a year, the agency shall review
the statement of policy.
(4) The agency may solicit and accept gifts, donations,
legacies and other revenues for deposit into the fund from
any person or entity, including a government entity.
(d) Report.--Within one year of the effective date of this
subsection, and every year thereafter, the agency shall submit a
report to the chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate, the chairperson and
minority chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the
House of Representatives, the chairperson and minority
chairperson of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee of the
Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of the Urban
Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. The report
shall specify all of the following:
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30 (1) The revenues and expenditures of the fund in the
prior fiscal year.
(2) The name of each program that has received money
from the fund and the number of individuals assisted.
(3) The number of individual grants awarded and the
county of residence of the grantees.
(4) A breakdown of total money spent by county, type of
services provided and outcomes related to housing permanency.
(e) Audit.--The Auditor General shall conduct an audit of
the revenues and expenditures of the fund no later than three
years after the effective date of this subsection. The Auditor
General shall conduct subsequent audits of the revenues and
expenditures of the fund no more than once every three years
from the date of the preceding audit. The Auditor General shall
submit a report of each audit to the Governor and the
chairperson and minority chairperson of the Appropriations
Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and minority
chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the House of
Representatives.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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