Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

I will soon be introducing a bill to consolidate several statutes into Title 44 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Title 44 will be known as the Law and Justice Code.
 
This codification project includes the following statutes: the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Law, 1978 Act 274; the Deputy Sheriffs’ Education and Training Act, 1984 Act 2; and the Crime Victims’ Act, 1998 Act 111. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) assisted with the development of this legislation.
 
Currently, Title 44 contains provisions relating to DNA data and testing (Chapter 23) and constables (Chapter 71). These provisions will be retained and will not be affected by the consolidation. With the addition of the three statutes codified by this legislation, Title 44 will fully complement the Crimes Code (Title 18) and the Judicial Code (Title 42) in providing for criminal justice and other legal matters.
 
Pennsylvania remains the only state that has not completely consolidated its statutes. I believe that it is important to bring our statutes together in a concise and coordinated fashion. The use of a consistent style and common definitions for words and phrases makes the law more readable. It is easier for the public to access a well-organized and written body of statutory law.
 
It is not the intent of this consolidation to make revisions to the law other than the editorial changes needed to conform to the style of the consolidated statutes and the removal of obsolete provisions. By bringing all of the laws together that deal with one particular subject, the law is easier to research, read and understand. In the future, if there are substantive changes to this area of law, they can be made in one bill to one or more titles of the consolidated statutes instead of several bills amending various free-standing acts.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation.