PRINTER'S NO. 3466
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2474
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY BRIGGS, SIEGEL, HILL-EVANS, RABB, SMITH-WADE-EL,
GUENST, DONAHUE, GIRAL, KHAN, SHUSTERMAN, SANCHEZ, CIRESI AND
DALEY, JULY 2, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
JULY 2, 2024
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
2 "An act relating to the finances of the State government;
3 providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
4 ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
5 Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
6 financial management firms, for private dam financial
7 assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
8 the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
9 bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
10 collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
11 due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
12 including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
13 the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
14 and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
15 Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
16 Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
17 courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
18 Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
19 all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
20 moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
21 and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
22 authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
23 to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
24 section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
25 Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
26 certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
27 department, board, commission, and officer of the State
28 government, every political subdivision of the State, and
29 certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
30 association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
31 collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
32 imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
 1 other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
2 every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
3 Commonwealth," in additional special funds and restricted
4 accounts, establishing the Survivor-Centered, Accessible,
5 Fair and Empowering (SAFE) Housing Trust Fund; and making an
6 interfund transfer.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Article XVII-A.1 of the act of April 9, 1929
10 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by
11 adding a subarticle to read:
12 SUBARTICLE K
13 SURVIVOR-CENTERED, ACCESSIBLE, FAIR AND
14 EMPOWERING (SAFE) HOUSING TRUST FUND
15 Section 1795-A.1. Definitions.
16 The following words and phrases when used in this subarticle
17 shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
18 context clearly indicates otherwise:
19 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
20 "Department." The Department of Transportation of the
21 Commonwealth.
22 "Domestic violence program." As defined in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6102
23 (relating to definitions). The term includes a culturally
24 specific organization that has a substantive partnership with a
25 domestic violence program.
26 "Fund." The Survivor-Centered, Accessible, Fair and
27 Empowering (SAFE) Housing Trust Fund established under section
28 1796-A.1.
29 "Housing program." A project designed to provide emergency,
30 transitional and permanent housing, along with related support
31 services to facilitate movement toward living as independently
32 as possible.
33 "Immediate family member." An adoptive child, biological
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 1 child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, brother, sister,
2 stepbrother, stepsister, half brother or half sister currently
3 living with a victim or survivor of domestic violence, sexual
4 assault, dating violence, human trafficking or stalking.
5 "Rape crisis program." A nonprofit organization or program
6 which has a primary purpose to provide confidential services to
7 sexual violence victims, which include the following:
8 (1) Survivor services, such as crisis intervention,
9 crisis hotlines, counseling and therapy, legal and medical
10 advocacy.
11 (2) Community services, such as information and
12 referrals, prevention education, community awareness,
13 professional training and outreach and institutional advocacy
14 in legal, medical, educational, housing and employment areas.
15 "Target population." Victims and survivors of domestic
16 violence, sexual assault, dating violence, human trafficking and
17 stalking and their immediate family members.
18 Section 1796-A.1. Survivor-Centered, Accessible, Fair and
19 Empowering (SAFE) Housing Trust Fund.
20 (a) Establishment.--The Survivor-Centered, Accessible, Fair
21 and Empowering (SAFE) Housing Trust Fund is established as a
22 separate fund in the State Treasury.
23 (b) Purpose.--The fund is established for the following
24 purposes:
25 (1) To provide the target population with access to
26 emergency, transitional and permanent housing programs in
27 order to reduce homelessness and housing instability. Housing
28 programs and services shall be available to the target
29 population regardless of an individual's sex, gender identity
30 or sexual orientation.
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 1 (2) To promote a policy of housing as a right, rather
2 than requiring survivors to demonstrate housing readiness as
3 a prerequisite for obtaining permanent housing.
4 Section 1797-A.1. Sources of revenue.
5 (a) Transfer.--On the effective date of this subsection, the
6 sum of $1,000,000 shall be transferred from the General Fund to
7 the fund.
8 (b) Additional surcharge.--
9 (1) In addition to any fee, charge or cost authorized by
10 law, an additional fee of $10 shall be charged and collected
11 by the recorder of deeds and clerks of court or by any
12 official designated to perform similar functions on each
13 filing of a deed or mortgage.
14 (2) All money received under paragraph (1) shall be
15 transferred by the recorder of deeds and clerks of court
16 collecting the fee to the State Treasurer for deposit into
17 the fund.
18 (c) Contributions.--
19 (1) Within one year of the effective date of this
20 paragraph, the department shall provide for all of the
21 following:
22 (i) The ability of an individual renewing a driver's
23 license or identification card electronically through the
24 department's publicly accessible Internet website to make
25 a contribution of $5 to the fund.
26 (ii) The ability of a person renewing a vehicle
27 registration electronically through the department's
28 publicly accessible Internet website to make a
29 contribution of $5 to the fund.
30 (2) The contributions shall be implemented as follows:
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 1 (i) A contribution under paragraph (1) shall be
2 added, as appropriate, to the regular fee for a renewal
3 of a driver's license or identification card and a
4 renewal of a vehicle registration.
5 (ii) A contribution under paragraph (1) may be made
6 for each renewal of a driver's license or identification
7 card and each renewal of a vehicle registration.
8 (3) Contributions under paragraph (1) shall be used
9 exclusively for the purposes of the fund under section 1796-
10 A.1(b).
11 (4) The department shall determine on a monthly basis
12 the total amount collected under this subsection and report
13 that amount to the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall
14 transfer that amount from the Motor License Fund to the fund.
15 (5) The fund shall reimburse the Motor License Fund for
16 the actual costs incurred by the department in the
17 administration of paragraph (1).
18 (6) The department shall provide adequate information
19 concerning the contribution to the fund in its instructions
20 for the renewal applicants under paragraph (1). The
21 information shall include the listing of an address furnished
22 by the agency to which contributions may be sent by
23 individuals wishing to make additional contributions.
24 (d) Other contributions.--Any grants, gifts, donations and
25 other payments from an individual or government entity may be
26 accepted as a contribution to the fund.
27 Section 1798-A.1. Use of fund.
28 (a) Authorization.--
29 (1) The agency shall administer the fund and have the
30 power to allocate revenue from the fund for any purpose
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 1 consistent with this subarticle.
2 (2) The agency shall allocate revenue from the fund to
3 reimburse the Motor License Fund as provided under
4 section 1797-A.1(c)(5).
5 (b) Grants.--
6 (1) The agency shall allocate revenue from the fund to
7 provide grants to domestic violence programs or rape crisis
8 programs that operate housing programs for the target
9 population. A domestic violence program or rape crisis
10 program receiving a grant under this paragraph shall offer
11 any of the following to the target population:
12 (i) Affordable housing.
13 (ii) Relocation services.
14 (iii) Rent or rental subsidies.
15 (iv) Stipends for security deposits, furniture and
16 any other housing-related needs.
17 (v) Financing options to facilitate homeownership.
18 (vi) Any other service determined by the agency to
19 provide housing options.
20 (2) When allocating revenue from the fund under
21 paragraph (1), the agency shall address and identify
22 geographical areas where target populations have been
23 underserved, disadvantaged and prevented from accessing safe,
24 stable and permanent housing.
25 (c) Operation.--
26 (1) The agency shall adopt a statement of policy
27 consistent with this subarticle within 60 days of the
28 effective date of this paragraph. The statement of policy
29 shall be transmitted to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
30 publication in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania
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 1 Bulletin, but shall not be subject to review under any of the
2 following:
3 (i) Section 205 of the act of July 31, 1968
4 (P.L.769, No.240), referred to as the Commonwealth
5 Documents Law.
6 (ii) Sections 204(b) and 301(10) of the act of
7 October 15, 1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the
8 Commonwealth Attorneys Act.
9 (iii) The act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181),
10 known as the Regulatory Review Act.
11 (2) At a minimum, the statement of policy shall provide
12 information on the maintenance of the fund, the criteria used
13 by the agency to determine eligibility for the allocation of
14 revenue from the fund and the procedures by which a program
15 may request funding.
16 (3) No less than once a year, the agency shall review
17 the statement of policy.
18 (4) The agency may solicit and accept gifts, donations,
19 legacies and other revenues for deposit into the fund from
20 any person or entity, including a government entity.
21 (d) Report.--Within one year of the effective date of this
22 subsection, and every year thereafter, the agency shall submit a
23 report to the chairperson and minority chairperson of the
24 Appropriations Committee of the Senate, the chairperson and
25 minority chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the
26 House of Representatives, the chairperson and minority
27 chairperson of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee of the
28 Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of the Urban
29 Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives. The report
30 shall specify all of the following:
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 1 (1) The revenues and expenditures of the fund in the
2 prior fiscal year.
3 (2) The name of each program that has received money
4 from the fund and the number of individuals assisted.
5 (3) The number of individual grants awarded and the
6 county of residence of the grantees.
7 (4) A breakdown of total money spent by county, type of
8 services provided and outcomes related to housing permanency.
9 (e) Audit.--The Auditor General shall conduct an audit of
10 the revenues and expenditures of the fund no later than three
11 years after the effective date of this subsection. The Auditor
12 General shall conduct subsequent audits of the revenues and
13 expenditures of the fund no more than once every three years
14 from the date of the preceding audit. The Auditor General shall
15 submit a report of each audit to the Governor and the
16 chairperson and minority chairperson of the Appropriations
17 Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and minority
18 chairperson of the Appropriations Committee of the House of
19 Representatives.
20 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 3466: P.L.343, No.176