Shortly, I will reintroduce legislation which grants the Attorney General concurrent jurisdiction to prosecute illegal gun-possession by prior-convicted felons in the City of Philadelphia. This bill is a successor to both HB 596 (2023-24) and HB 2275 (2021-22), the latter of which garnered overwhelming bipartisan support and passed the House in 2022 (151-49, final passage on April 27, 2022). It is federal and state crime for a prior-convicted felon to possess any firearm. 

Recall that HB 2275 was amended to establish a Gun Violence Task Force (“GVTF”) in Philadelphia, which would include the Office of Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Eastern District of Pennsylvania), the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and every local and federal law enforcement agency in the city. The newly structured GVTF was previously negotiated with the Office of Attorney General and both parties of the House in 2022.  

Between 2018 and 2024, an astounding 12,478 individuals were shot in the City of Philadelphia. Of these shooting incidents, 2,449 proved fatal. Statistics gathered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (Commission) reveal the substantial disparity which exists between Philadelphia and the other counties of this Commonwealth when it comes to firearm violence and the deplorable rate at which prior-convicted felons in possession of firearms are prosecuted.  

The Commission notes the following in its most recent statistical analysis: 

• The average assault by firearm rate is 259 per 100,000 residents in Philadelphia. 

• The average robbery by firearm rate is 187 per 100,000 residents in Philadelphia. 

• These rates are more than four times higher than the state average. 

In other words, an individual’s chances of being assaulted or robbed with a firearm nearly quintuple when entering the city. 

Similarly, according to the Philadelphia Police Department’s Crime Statistics Map over a recent 90-day period (November 14, 2024, through February 12, 2025), there were 933 aggravated assaults and 678 robberies committed with firearms in the City of Philadelphia.  

To counter this firearm violence in Philadelphia, we will create by statute a first of its kind multi-jurisdiction, multi-agency task force to meet violence with strength. With every illegal gun-possession arrest of a prior convicted felon, the arresting law enforcement agency must report said arrest to the GVTF for potential prosecution. After assessing the facts and circumstances of the case, including the severity of the charge(s) and prior criminal history of the defendant, the task force members (including the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney) have the authority to assert prosecutorial jurisdiction over the matter.  

Each year, the Attorney General must submit an annual report to the Appropriations and Judiciary Committees of both the House and Senate about the operations of the Gun Violence Task Force and the arrests, prosecutions, convictions, sentences, and expenditures stemming from the task force’s investigations and prosecutions.  

By granting the Gun Violence Task Force the authority to investigate and prosecute felon-in-possession offenses in Philadelphia, we will help restore a sense of order and justice in a city where lawlessness continues to reign. It is imperative that our laws are enforced to stem the tide of violence in our communities.  

  
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation.