PRINTER'S NO. 572
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.568
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SOLOMON, GIRAL, HANBIDGE, BOROWSKI, KHAN, SANCHEZ,
DONAHUE, HILL-EVANS, FRANKEL, SCHLOSSBERG, OTTEN, GREEN,
WARREN AND BRENNAN, FEBRUARY 12, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous
articles, providing for gun violence task forces.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 6129. Gun violence task forces .
(a) Establishment.--
(1) Upon written request initiated by the district
attorney of a county to the Attorney General, a gun violence
task force may be established in the county.
(2) The district attorney may terminate the gun violence
task force by providing written notice to the Attorney
General. Absent notice under this paragraph, the gun violence
task force shall terminate as otherwise provided in this
section.
(3) A gun violence task force shall operate under the
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18 authority of the Attorney General.
(b) Powers and duties.--A gun violence task force:
(1) Shall investigate violations of sections 6105
(relating to persons not to possess, use, manufacture,
control, sell or transfer firearms) and 6111 (relating to
sale or transfer of firearms), and similar offenses under
Federal law, in the county in which the task force is
established.
(2) M ay recommend to the Attorney General to prosecute
violations under paragraph (1) .
(3) May utilize investigatory teams impaneled under
subsection (d).
(c) Composition.--A gun violence task force may, as
determined by the Attorney General, include:
(1) The Attorney General, deputy attorneys general and
agents of the Office of the Attorney General.
(2) Members of the office of the district attorney in a
county.
(3) Federal, State and local law enforcement officers.
(4) Representatives of key stakeholders in communities
that are experiencing high and increasing rates of gun
violence.
(5) Faith leaders who work with communities experiencing
high rates of gun violence.
(6) A community relations officer who represents a
community experiencing high rates of gun violence.
(7) A victim of crime who works in neighborhoods
experiencing high rates of gun violence.
(8) An expert in preventive crime measures who has
advised on crime-reduction techniques.
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30 (d) Investigatory teams.-- In a county where a gun violence
task force has been established, the Attorney General may
impanel individualized investigatory teams that work in
conjunction with and under the purview of a gun violence task
force .
(e) Notice.--Each law enforcement agency that is a member of
a gun violence task force shall notify the gun violence task
force of any arrest or other criminal action or proceeding for
violations under subsection (b)(1) within 48 hours of the arrest
or of instituting the action or proceeding.
(f) Authority to prosecute for certain offenses.--
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), in a county in
which a gun violence task force has been established under
this section, the Attorney General may prosecute any criminal
action or proceeding, including a proceeding for the
forfeiture or condemnation of property under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch.
58 (relating to forfeiture of assets), for violations under
subsection (b)(1).
(2) In deciding whether to prosecute under this
subsection, the Attorney General shall consider the totality
of the circumstances, including:
(i) Whether the alleged violation of section 6105 or
6111 is the lead charge and the severity of any other
offense charged in conjunction with the alleged violation
of section 6105 or 6111.
(ii) The criminal history record information of the
alleged offender, including whether the offender was
previously convicted of an offense under this chapter.
(iii) Whether a gun violence task force recommended
prosecution under subsection (b)(2).
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30 (iv) Whether the Attorney General has sufficient
resources to prosecute the alleged offender.
(v) Whether the alleged offender utilized a firearm
during the commission of a felony.
(vi) Whether the alleged offender is involved or
associated with the sale, manufacture, distribution or
delivery of any controlled substance or counterfeit
controlled substance in violation of the act of April 14,
1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance,
Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act.
(vii) The impact of the alleged offense on the
victim or the community.
(viii) Whether the alleged offender's commission of
the offense violated the terms and conditions of a
sentence or bail bond.
(ix) Any other relevant or aggravating
circumstances.
(3) The Attorney General may not prosecute under this
section if the alleged offender unlawfully possessed a
firearm during the commission of murder or a crime of
violence, as that term is defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9714(g)
(relating to sentences for second and subsequent offenses),
unless the district attorney requests in writing that the
Attorney General prosecute the case.
(4) In a case in which the Attorney General exercises
the authority to prosecute under this section , no other
prosecuting entity for the Commonwealth shall have authority
to act, except as authorized by the Attorney General. No
person shall have standing to challenge the authority of the
Attorney General to prosecute the cases, and, if any
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30 challenge is made, the challenge shall be dismissed and no
relief shall be available in the courts of this Commonwealth
to the prosecuting entity making the challenge.
(5) The provisions of this subsection shall expire
December 31, 2027.
(g) Annual reports.--
(1) By October 1 of each year, the Attorney General
shall make an annual report on the operation of gun violence
task forces to:
(i) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate.
(ii) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives.
(iii) The chairperson and minority chairperson of
the Judiciary Committee of the Senate.
(iv) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives.
(2) The report under this subsection shall contain the
following information for the previous fiscal year regarding
each gun violence task force :
(i) The number of members, per agency, serving on
the gun violence task force .
(ii) The total number of arrests in a county for
alleged violations of section 6105 or 6111, including
separately the total number of arrests by the gun
violence task force .
(iii) The total number of bills of information filed
for alleged violations of section 6105 or 6111, including
separately the total number of bills filed by the
Attorney General under this section .
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30 (iv) The total number of convictions resulting from
prosecutions under subparagraph (iii), including
separately the total number of convictions resulting from
prosecutions by the Attorney General under this section .
(v) The sentences imposed for each conviction under
subparagraph (iv), including separately the sentences
imposed for each conviction resulting from a prosecution
by the Attorney General under this section .
(vi) The number of firearms seized by the gun
violence task force .
(vii) A summary of expenditures, including any money
appropriated for the gun violence task force in a
previous year that is carried over or unspent.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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