A Resolution designating the month of April 2025 as "Pennsylvania 8-1-1 Safe Digging Month."
Summary
House Resolution 34 designates April 2025 as “Pennsylvania 8-1-1 Safe Digging Month.” The resolution is largely commemorative and educational: it highlights the Pennsylvania One Call System, encourages residents and excavators to call 8-1-1 or 1-800-242-1776 before digging, and reminds the public that three business days’ notice is required before excavation. It frames safe digging as a public safety and infrastructure protection issue, emphasizing the prevention of injuries, utility outages, environmental damage, and costly repairs.
The resolution also places Pennsylvania’s underground utility line protection framework in a broader context, noting that the state’s One Call Act has served as a model for other states and foreign countries. It urges compliance with existing law and directs attention to the PA 811 website for more information. Because it is a resolution rather than a statute, HR 34 does not create new legal obligations or amend the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes; instead, it promotes awareness of existing excavation-notification requirements and the state’s utility damage prevention system.
Impact
HR 34 does not change state law, but it reinforces and publicizes the existing Underground Utility Line Protection Law, commonly known as the One Call Act. Its practical effect is to encourage compliance by homeowners, contractors, excavators, and other parties who dig near underground utilities, while supporting the Pennsylvania One Call System and related public safety messaging. The resolution may also help increase awareness of the notice requirement and the 8-1-1 notification process across the Commonwealth.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad, positive support. It passed the House Consumer Protection, Technology and Utilities Committee unanimously and then passed the House floor by a wide margin, indicating little opposition to the underlying message of utility safety and damage prevention. The tone of the resolution is celebratory and promotional rather than controversial, with lawmakers presenting safe digging as a common-sense public safety measure.
Contention
There is little visible contention around HR 34 itself, likely because it is a nonbinding commemorative resolution. Any potential disagreement would more likely concern the broader compliance burden associated with excavation notice requirements or the effectiveness of public awareness campaigns, but no such objections appear in the available committee or floor vote history. The near-unanimous votes suggest that the measure was not politically divisive and was treated as a routine recognition of an existing safety program.
Recognizing the month of April 2026 as "Fair Housing Month" in Pennsylvania and designating April 30, 2026, as "Affordable Homeownership Day" in Pennsylvania.