Pennsylvania Senate Bill SB739

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 5/13/25
• Refer: 5/13/25
• Engrossed: 6/25/25
• Refer: 6/25/25

Caption

In inchoate crimes, further providing for the offense of manufacture, distribution or possession of master keys for motor vehicles.

Summary

SB 739 updates Pennsylvania’s criminal law on motor vehicle “master keys” by broadening the offense to cover not only physical keys, but also electronic and digital tools used to unlock, start, or emulate vehicle key fobs. The bill makes it a crime to manufacture, sell, transfer, use, possess, or attempt to use these “illicit devices,” and also prohibits aiding another person in using them. It further adds a reporting duty for certain covered persons if an illicit device is lost or stolen, requiring notice to law enforcement within 48 hours of discovery. The bill also revises the list of exceptions so that the law does not apply to law enforcement, government entities, the National Insurance Crime Bureau, and businesses that commonly handle vehicle access tools in the ordinary course of business, including common carriers, fleet owners, dealers, manufacturers, locksmiths, mechanic shops, and repossession agencies. It establishes grading that treats a first violation of the core offense as a first-degree misdemeanor, with second or subsequent violations elevated to a third-degree felony; failure to report a lost or stolen device is a summary offense with escalating fines.

Impact

SB 739 amends Title 18, section 909 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, replacing the narrower “master key” framework with a broader “illicit devices for motor vehicles” framework. The change expands criminal liability to modern key-programming and signal-interception technology, while preserving business and governmental exceptions for legitimate use. It also creates a new reporting requirement and penalty structure, affecting locksmiths, dealers, mechanics, repossession agencies, carriers, and others who lawfully possess vehicle access devices, as well as individuals involved in vehicle theft or unauthorized access.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests strong overall support for the bill. It advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee 10-3, passed the Senate overwhelmingly 49-1, and was reported from House Judiciary 25-1. The near-unanimous floor vote indicates broad agreement that the law should be updated to address modern vehicle theft tools and electronic bypass devices.

Contention

The main point of contention appears to have been the scope of the criminal prohibition and the breadth of the exceptions. Opponents or skeptical members likely focused on whether the definition of “illicit device” could reach legitimate locksmithing, dealership, mechanic, repossession, or carrier activities, and whether the new 48-hour reporting requirement is workable for covered businesses and individuals. Supporters, by contrast, appear to have emphasized the need to close loopholes in existing law and respond to evolving auto-theft technology.