HB 2713 PA
An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in riot, disorderly conduct and related offenses, further providing for the offense of cruelty to animal.
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Summary
Pennsylvania HB 2713 amends the state's animal cruelty law to add a specific prohibition on using animals to draw, push, or pull a carriage for business or monetary gain. The prohibition applies only in municipalities with populations of 100,000 or greater based on the most recent federal census. The amendment restructures the animal cruelty offense to explicitly list specific acts that constitute cruelty, including illtreatment, overloading, beating, abandonment, and abuse of animals, in addition to the new carriage-pulling prohibition. The bill maintains the existing penalty structure for animal cruelty offenses. The law takes effect 60 days after enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Melissa Shusterman Democratic · primary
6 coauthors / cosponsors
- Jeanne Mcneill Democratic · cosponsor
- Joseph Hohenstein Democratic · cosponsor
- Dan Williams Democratic · cosponsor
- Lisa Borowski Democratic · cosponsor
- Kristine Howard Democratic · cosponsor
- Benjamin Sanchez Democratic · cosponsor
Action history (1)
- Jul 24, 2026 Referred to Judiciary · lower
Text versions (3)
Full text
Full text imported from www.palegis.us
PRINTER'S NO. 3795 TH E GE N ER AL A S SE MB L Y OF P ENN SY L VA NI A HOUSE BILL No. 2713 Session of 2026 INTRODUCED BY SHUSTERMAN, McNEILL, HOHENSTEIN, D. WILLIAMS, BOROWSKI, HOWARD AND SANCHEZ, JULY 24, 2026 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JULY 24, 2026 AN ACT Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in riot, disorderly conduct and related offenses, further providing for the offense of cruelty to animal. The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows: Section 1. Section 5533(a) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes is amended to read: § 5533. Cruelty to animal. (a) Offense defined.--A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly [illtreats,]: (1) illtreats, overloads, beats, abandons or abuses an animal[.]; or (2) utilizes an animal to draw, push or pull a carriage in the course of business or for monetary gain within the limits of a municipality located in this Commonwealth with a population of 100,000 or greater based on the most recent Federal decennial census. * * * 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. 20260HB2713PN3795 - 2 - 1
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