23 New Laws Just Signed In PA: Hunting Rules, Smoking Age, More

HARRISBURG, PA — Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed 23 new bills into law, including an increase in the minimum age to buy tobacco products and another measure that allows hunting for three Sundays.

The smoking legislation, which raises the minimum age from 18 to 21, also expands the definition of tobacco products to include e-cigarettes and other vaping items.

“Numerous studies have shown tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes, are particularly harmful and addictive to youths and young adults,” Wolf said. “Raising the age to 21 in combination with barring e-cigarettes at our schools will help us prevent young Pennsylvanians from engaging in this dangerous behavior.”

Wolf, in signing the law lifting the hunting ban for three Sundays, said the legislation "carefully balances the needs of landowners with an expanded opportunity for hunters who work or attend school during weekdays."

Under the new law, one day of Sunday hunting will be scheduled during deer rifle season, one during deer archery season, and a third date to be determined by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Gov. Wolf also signed the following bills:

• Senate Bill 314: Establishes the Rural Health Redesign Center Authority and the Pennsylvania Rural Health Redesign Center Fund. The authority and fund will support the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, a program announced in March that supports the financial stability of hospitals in rural communities by transitioning them from fee-for-service to global budget payments.
• House Bill 17: Establishes a 10-year collection window for assessed personal income taxes.
• House Bill 49: Includes school safety amendments and allows public school students to earn credits toward graduation by taking courses in personal financial literacy.
• House Bill 57: Abolishes various boards, commissions, committees and other entities and makes related repeals.
• House Bill 227: Amends the election code to require 10 petition signers to nominate a candidate for school director in a primary race. It also eliminates ballot stubs and adds provisions for privacy.
• House Bill 754: Amends the state lottery law to extend the cost-of-living adjustment moratorium to Dec. 31, 2021.
• House Bill 917: Repeals a law passed in 1929 containing guidelines for municipal-funded hospitals.
• House Bill 956: Sets the rate of return for the state lottery to 20 percent until June 30, 2024.
• House Bill 1016: Amends the Insurance Company Law of 1921 providing for solvency and further providing for benefit contract and for injunction, liquidation and receivership of domestic society.
• House Bill 1203: Amends the existing law regarding auditing municipal authorities.
• House Bill 1402: Establishes sexual extortion as a crime.
• House Bill 1410: Establishes a Military Installation Remediation Program providing funding to remediate areas affected by per- and polyfluoroalkyl and related substances.
• House Bill 1547: Names numerous bridges and roadway segments.
• House Bill 1772: Allows landowners to identify property as no trespassing by painting purple stripes on trees or posts.
• House Bill 1896: Allows real estate to be transferred from the Owen J. Roberts School District to the Pennsylvania American Water Company.
• House Bill 1982: Allows employers participating in the State Employee Retirement System to pre-fund all or a portion of their pension liability.
• Senate Bill 146: Allows online training for firefighters.
• Senate Bill 317: Makes changes to the timeline for a Second Class Township to pass its annual budget.
• Senate Bill 456: Allows branch campuses of private licensed schools to operate in multiple counties.
• Senate Bill 572: Requires patients beginning a new opioid prescription to sign an agreement with their prescribers ensuring they understand the risks of addiction and dangers of overdose. The legislation also requires new patients to undergo baseline drug testing.
• Senate Bill 733: Directs $2 million per year for 10 years be paid from the Pennsylvania Gaming Economic Development and Tourism Fund to fund debt service on the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown.