Amending the act of November 27, 2019 (P.L.667, No.92), entitled "An act abolishing numerous State authorities, boards, commissions, committees, councils and representatives; and making related repeals," further providing for State authorities, boards, commissions, committees, councils and representatives abolishment; providing for composition of Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, for transfer of duties and for duty of Secretary of the Commonwealth relating to Interstate Rail Passenger Advisory Council Compact; further providing for repeals; and abrogating an executive order.
HB1695 revises Pennsylvania’s 2019 law that abolished a number of state boards, commissions, councils, and similar entities. The bill removes additional bodies from state law, including the Canine Health Board, Climate Change Advisory Committee, Lobbying Disclosure Regulations Committee, Pennsylvania Civil Disorder Authority, Pennsylvania Dairy Future Commission, Prevailing Wage Advisory Board, Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Advisory Committee, and others. It also repeals or amends the underlying statutes that created or governed those entities so they are fully eliminated from the legal code.
The bill also restructures the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission by specifying a new 11-member appointment structure, setting five-year terms, vacancy procedures, attendance-based forfeiture rules, and requiring the commission to elect its own chairperson. In addition, it transfers certain duties from abolished bodies to existing officials: the Secretary of Agriculture would assume canine health-related duties, and the Secretary of the Commonwealth would assume lobbying disclosure regulation duties. The bill further directs the Secretary of the Commonwealth to notify other states that Pennsylvania is repealing its participation in the Interstate Rail Passenger Advisory Council Compact, and it abrogates a related executive order.
HB1695 would change Pennsylvania law by repealing multiple statutory provisions across several subject areas, including agriculture, environmental policy, labor and prevailing wage, public health, recycling, senior services, lobbying regulation, rail passenger planning, and civil disorder-related governance. It would also amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to redefine the commission’s membership and governance structure, while shifting some responsibilities from now-abolished advisory bodies to cabinet-level officials. The bill would therefore reduce or eliminate several advisory and oversight entities and consolidate certain functions within existing executive offices.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or formal support/opposition in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to reflect a general deregulatory or consolidation approach, with an emphasis on eliminating boards and commissions and moving selected duties to existing officials. The absence of voting history means overall sentiment cannot be measured from legislative action in the supplied materials.
The most likely points of contention are the elimination of advisory and oversight bodies tied to environmental policy, labor standards, public health, senior issues, and rail planning, as well as the repeal of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission’s existing membership provisions. Stakeholders who may object include agencies or advocates associated with climate change, prevailing wage, tobacco cessation, recycling, senior citizen services, and rail passenger policy, while supporters would likely favor streamlining government and reducing the number of statutory entities. The bill also raises institutional concerns by transferring duties away from specialized boards to broader executive offices, which could be viewed as reducing subject-matter expertise or public representation.