HARRISBURG, P.A. (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee advanced a handful of bills on Thursday, including two from the last legislative session that had strong support, but stalled out before it ended.
One of them, House Bill 407, introduced by Western PA Democrat Lindsay Powell, would make it a crime to use a tracking device, like an Apple Airtag, to stalk someone without their knowledge.
Powell said the bill also has the support of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police and the ACLU.
“What we see and what officers are seeing across the Commonwealth and the country is that this particular technology is being misused to stalk people without their knowledge,” she said.
The legislation has exemptions for law enforcement, fleet managers, and parents or guardians.
The bill passed out of the State House 199-1 last year before stalling in the State Senate, and passed unanimously out of the State House Judiciary Committee this time.
The second bill on a second go-round this year is House Bill 414, introduced by Southeastern PA Republican Craig Williams. It aims to protect the custody and visitation rights of deployed U.S. servicemembers.
Williams said it can be a “nightmare” to regain fair custody rights after deployment. He also pointed to 15 other states that already have similar legislation enacted.
House Bill 414 passed out of committee last session, but never got a vote on the House floor. This time, it passed unanimously out of committee.