PRINTER'S NO. 1417
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1297
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY A. BROWN, BRENNAN, ROZZI, NEILSON, HILL-EVANS,
BURGOS AND DELLOSO, JUNE 2, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 2, 2023
AN ACT
Amending Title 53 (Municipalities Generally) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in employees, providing for ballistic
armor requirements for law enforcement officers.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 53 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
ยง 2173. Ballistic armor requirements for law enforcement
officers.
(a) Ballistic armor required.--Except as provided under
subsection (b), the commission shall require a law enforcement
officer, in collaboration with any applicable State or local
agency, to be equipped with ballistic armor while engaging in
criminal or traffic law enforcement duties . The ballistic armor
shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The ballistic armor shall be Type IIIA, Type III or
Type IV on the effective date of this section.
(2) The ballistic armor shall be certified by the
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National Institute of Justice within the United States
Department of Justice on the effective date of this section.
(3) The ballistic armor shall not be expired.
(b) Exception.--A law enforcement officer employed to check
parking meters or to perform only administrative duties and
auxiliary and fire police shall be exempt from the ballistic
armor requirement under subsection (a).
(c) Training.--The commission shall provide training to a
law enforcement officer on the proper use of ballistic armor,
the different classifications of ballistic armor provided by the
National Institute of Justice within the United States
Department of Justice and when a law enforcement officer should
wear additional ballistic armor.
(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "law
enforcement officer" shall mean any of the following:
(1) A member of the Pennsylvania State Police.
(2) Any enforcement officer or investigator employed by
the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
(3) A parole agent of the Department of Corrections.
(4) A Capitol Police officer.
(5) A Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
ranger.
(6) A drug enforcement agent of the Office of Attorney
General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the drug
laws of this Commonwealth and a special agent of the Office
of Attorney General whose principal duty is the enforcement
of the criminal laws of this Commonwealth.
(7) Any member of a port authority or other authority
police department.
(8) Any police officer of a county, region, city,
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borough, town or township.
(9) Any sheriff or deputy sheriff.
(10) A member of the Pennsylvania Fish Commission.
(11) A Pennsylvania Wildlife Conservation Officer.
(12) A member of a campus police force with the power to
arrest under section 2416 of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929.
As used in this paragraph, the term "campus police" has the
meaning given in section 302 of the act of November 29, 2004
(P.L.1383, No.180), known as the Uniform Crime Reporting Act.
(13) A member of the Fort Indiantown Gap Police Force.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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