Pennsylvania Act 2026-1 — JUDICIAL CODE (42 PA.C.S.) - EXPENSES, DEPOSITS INTO ACCOUNT AND PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF ACCOUNT

Act text

Session of 2026

No. 2026-1

HB 331

AN ACT

Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in budget and finance, further providing for expenses; in facilities and supplies, further providing for deposits into account; and, in access to justice, providing for performance audit of account.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 3532 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 3532. Expenses.

The Office of the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall pay the annual registration fee of [$200] $400 to the Special Court Judges of Pennsylvania Association for each magisterial district judge, Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge and Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge position authorized as of January 31 of each year. Payment shall be made on the first day of a new fiscal year including July 1, 1988. In addition the Office of the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania shall pay the annual cost for the publishing of a monthly journal containing the update and revision of laws and State Supreme Court rule changes. Except for the funding of the publication of the monthly journal which shall be a direct cost of the Office of the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania, all other funding for the other expenses set forth in this section shall come from the annual appropriation made [to the] for magisterial district judges education .

Section 2. Section 3733(a) of Title 42 is amended by adding a paragraph to read:

§ 3733. Deposits into account.

(a) General rule.--

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(3) Beginning July 1, 2025, and notwithstanding section 3571 (relating to Commonwealth portion of fines, etc.) or this section, any costs charged by magisterial district judges under section 1725.1 (relating to costs) otherwise paid to the Commonwealth shall be deposited into the restricted account established in section 3731 (relating to establishment of restricted receipt account). Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as affecting the amount payable to counties under section 3572 (relating to county portion of fines, etc.). This paragraph shall expire June 30, 2028.

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Section 3. Title 42 is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 4908. Performance audit of account.

(a) Duty of Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.--The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall, no later than June 15, 2026, conduct and submit to the General Assembly a performance audit of the account with the purpose of examining the provisioning of civil legal aid services in this Commonwealth. The audit shall, at minimum, contain information relating to:

(1) The current scope of civil legal aid services provided in this Commonwealth from money collected under this chapter and other funding sources.

(2) The organizations which receive money collected under this chapter and the services the organizations provide.

(3) The assessment and collection of any fee or surcharge required to be deposited into the account, including:

(i) identifying the number of cases in which the fee or surcharge was required by law to be assessed but was not assessed; and

(ii) the rate of collection for fees and surcharges that have been assessed.

(4) The potential increase in deposits into the account that would result from the repeal of section 3733.1(b) (relating to surcharge).

(5) An identification of alternative funding sources for civil legal aid services.

(b) Consultation.--The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee shall complete the performance audit under subsection (a) in consultation with the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court, the Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts Board and any eligible legal services provider receiving money under this chapter.

Section 4. The amendment or addition of 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 3532 and 3733(a)(3) shall apply retroactively to July 1, 2025.

Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

APPROVED--The 4th day of February, A.D. 2026.

JOSH SHAPIRO