Pennsylvania House Bill HB324

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/27/25
• Refer: 1/27/25
• Refer: 1/29/25
• Report Pass: 2/3/25
• Engrossed: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/3/25
• Refer: 2/4/25
• Report Pass: 2/5/25
• Enrolled: 2/5/25
• Chaptered: 2/6/25
• Passed: 2/6/25

Caption

An Act amending the act of April 6, 1956 (1955 P.L.1429, No.466), referred to as the Poultry Technician Licensure Law, further providing for collection of samples, for technician requirements, for lic . . .ensure, for powers and duties of Secretary of Agriculture and for blood sample restrictions.

Summary

HB324 updates Pennsylvania’s Poultry Technician Licensure Law to broaden the role of licensed poultry technicians beyond pullorum testing. The bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to license trained technicians to collect regulatory samples from poultry and eggs and to conduct on-site surveillance for dangerous transmissible poultry diseases. It also allows the department to set licensing and certification standards, define sampling and testing procedures, and provide training in Spanish through a quarantine order. The bill revises applicant requirements by replacing older citizenship, education, and poultry blood-testing language with a requirement that applicants be at least 18, legally authorized to work in the United States, and have completed department-prescribed training as a certified poultry technician. It increases the application and renewal fee from $5 to $10, changes the appeal process to the current judicial review statute, and updates the Secretary’s enforcement authority to include suspension or revocation for incompetence, noncompliance with quarantine orders or regulations, or impairment from substances. It also removes the prior restriction that a technician drawing blood samples could not be employed by the poultry owner.

Impact

HB324 amends the 1956 Poultry Technician Licensure Law and expands the statutory authority of the Department of Agriculture over poultry disease surveillance and sample collection. It changes who may be licensed, how they are trained and regulated, the fee structure for licensure, and the legal process for challenging agency actions. The bill also eliminates the former prohibition on technicians being employed by the poultry owner, which may affect how poultry operations staff or contract for sampling services.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have broad legislative support, passing the House and Senate with substantial majorities and relatively limited opposition. Committee and floor votes show strong approval in both chambers, suggesting the measure was viewed as a practical update to agricultural disease-control and licensing rules. The absence of committee transcripts limits insight into detailed debate, but the vote margins indicate generally favorable sentiment.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are the expansion of regulatory authority for the Secretary of Agriculture, the removal of the independent-technician restriction, and the updated eligibility requirements for licensure. Some lawmakers may have been concerned about loosening the employment restriction for technicians, while others may have focused on the new fee increase, the broader quarantine-order authority, and the shift from older statutory standards to more flexible department-set training and certification rules. The recorded votes show some opposition, but not enough to prevent passage.