In offenses against the family, further providing for the offense of dealing in infant children.
Summary
HB910 amends Pennsylvania’s criminal code provision on “dealing in infant children” by elevating the offense from a misdemeanor to a first-degree felony. The bill keeps the underlying conduct the same: a person commits the offense by trading, bartering, buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in infant children. It also retains the existing carve-out for otherwise legal surrogacy and adoption, and defines “infant child” as a child one year of age or younger.
The bill would strengthen the penalty structure in Title 18, Chapter 43, by making the offense significantly more serious under Pennsylvania law. A first-degree felony carries much harsher criminal exposure than a misdemeanor, increasing potential imprisonment and collateral consequences for anyone convicted under the statute. The act would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Impact
HB910 would amend 18 Pa.C.S. § 4305, changing the offense of dealing in infant children from a misdemeanor to a first-degree felony while preserving the statute’s existing exceptions for lawful surrogacy and adoption. The practical effect is to increase punishment and deterrence for trafficking-like conduct involving infants, while leaving legitimate family-formation arrangements outside the statute’s reach.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests strong support in the House Judiciary Committee, where the bill was reported as committed by a 25-1 vote. No committee transcript is available, but the near-unanimous committee vote indicates broad agreement with the bill’s goal of imposing tougher criminal penalties for the prohibited conduct.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the severity of the penalty increase: supporters appear to favor treating the conduct as a serious felony, while any dissent likely centers on whether the conduct should be elevated from a misdemeanor to a first-degree felony. Another possible issue is ensuring the statute does not unintentionally affect lawful surrogacy or adoption, though the bill expressly preserves those exceptions. The lone committee dissent suggests at least one member had reservations, but no transcript is available to identify the specific concern.
In offenses against the family, further providing for the offense of dealing in infant children; and, in depositions and witnesses, providing for sentencing considerations for child victim offenders.
In offenses against the family, further providing for the offense of endangering welfare of children; in child protective services, further providing for definitions and for exclusions from child abuse; and, in juvenile matters, further providing for definitions.