PennsylvaniaHB 18622025-2026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

An Act amending Titles 35 (Health and Safety), 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) and 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in general provisions, further providing for definitio . . .ns; in licensing of drivers, further providing for chemical testing to determine amount of alcohol or controlled substance and repealing provisions relating to ignition interlock limited license; in rules of the road in general, providing for private parking lots; in driving after imbibing alcohol or utilizing drugs, further providing for definitions, for grading, for penalties and for ignition interlock, providing for ignition interlock driver's license, for ignition interlock driver's license issued during suspension period and for online services for ignition interlock driver's license and further providing for prior offenses, for the offense of illegally operating a motor vehicle not equipped with ignition interlock and for requirements for driving under influence offenders; and making editorial changes.

Sponsored By: Ed Neilson (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

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16 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 6 costs, 5 mixed.

Treatment participants gain driving restoration help

Participants in recognized treatment courts following the required adult treatment standards qualify for interlock licenses during participation. Courts must notify PennDOT when participation changes. After successful completion, PennDOT must restore noncommercial driving without a restoration fee when the court orders it and no other violation authorizes suspension. Courts must also report completion of court-ordered drug and alcohol treatment within five days. If that report arrives late, PennDOT has sole discretion to grant interlock time credit.

Drivers must pay before unrestricted restoration

Drivers owing chemical-testing restoration fees must pay them before getting unrestricted driving privileges back. The law removes the payment schedule tied to the repealed limited-license program. The provision does not state the fee amounts.

Drivers must prove clean interlock records

Interlock restrictions continue until PennDOT issues a replacement license without the designation after the suspension and interlock term end. PennDOT must first receive a vendor report showing 60 incident-free days, or 30 days for suspensions under the specified diversion rule. Reportable incidents include a start attempt at 0.08% alcohol or higher without a lower reading within 10 minutes. They also include missed or failed retests and missed required service that leaves the device unable to work. Vendors must report incidents, PennDOT must notify drivers, and the requirement continues until the applicable clean period is met.

Interlock violations bring fines and jail

The offense of driving without a required interlock also covers drivers subject to the new suspension-period license rules. Penalties include a $300 to $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail. Driving without the device with alcohol of at least 0.025% or a listed drug or metabolite brings a $1,000 fine and at least 90 days in jail. Three qualifying convictions from separate acts can support habitual-offender treatment; the aggravated interlock offense is not excluded. Defendants with listed convictions or dispositions also owe a laboratory or paramedic user fee when laboratory services were required for prosecution.

Post-diversion drivers face revised DUI penalties

A first qualifying post-diversion DUI violation receives the existing penalties tied to its underlying impairment offense. A specified post-diversion violation is a first-degree misdemeanor when the underlying case involves the highest-alcohol or controlled-substance offense. That grading also covers a general-impairment case involving refusal of testing supported by a valid warrant, court order, or other constitutional basis. The supplied provisions do not state new fine amounts.

Prison and offenses delay driving restoration

For listed offenses, suspension or revocation credit does not start until the driver leaves prison. PennDOT must recall an interlock license after receiving a qualifying offense record that carries another driving sanction, subject to statutory exceptions. The driver must surrender the license. After the other sanction ends, the driver must finish the remaining interlock term before receiving an unrestricted replacement license. Recall also covers interlock licenses issued during suspension.

Drivers face revised interlock installation rules

After covered DUI or testing-related suspensions, drivers must equip each vehicle they plan to drive with an interlock. Those vehicles must be registered and insured. Listed exceptions include qualifying first-offense cases and certification that the person will not drive during the interlock period. Completion of a diversion program within the prior 10 years can affect exception eligibility. The law ends the economic-hardship exception that allowed installation on only one vehicle.

Drivers get credit toward interlock terms

For covered suspensions, credit toward the one-year or 18-month interlock term starts when the interlock license is issued. Time holding a valid interlock license counts toward that term. DUI and test-refusal suspensions from the same incident require only one applicable interlock term, with one license covering both. However, when installation occurs before the suspension starts, the suspension period does not count toward the interlock term.

New restricted licenses for suspended drivers

The law replaces the former limited interlock license and its nonrefundable $65 application fee with a new restricted license. Eligible Pennsylvania drivers with DUI, similar out-of-state, or test-refusal suspensions generally must wait 30 days after the relevant report or court action to apply. Applicants must show interlock installation and insurance, surrender or account for their license, and address fines, costs, and fees. PennDOT must issue a qualified, complete application within 14 days; online or certified-mail applicants receive a camera card. Applying at a designated license center costs an extra $11, adjustable under existing law. Commercial driving is barred, as are applicants without Pennsylvania licensure or required testing, those with revoked, recalled, or canceled privileges, and specified federal or vehicle-homicide bars. Unpaid vehicle judgments require the stated payment or installment arrangements and insurance; the existing prior-offense timing rule also applies.

Private parking bills gain notice protections

Private lot operators can set parking rates and violation charges, but must post visible signs identifying private operation and charges. They must place or mail unpaid-charge invoices within 10 business days after parking or a violation. After an affidavit and contract, operators or agents can obtain only registrant names and mailing addresses for invoicing. Data must be secured; agents must destroy records within 24 hours after payment, and intentional misuse carries a $500 fine per violation as a third-degree misdemeanor. PennDOT can audit compliance and charge operators up to $2 per record during the effective calendar year and the next year. Later record fees rise with consumer prices, rounded to the nearest $1.

Drivers gain easier interlock service access

Suspended applicants needing installation proof can drive one vehicle directly from home to installation and back, carrying vendor appointment or installation proof. Approved providers can offer mobile installation under state standards; participants and unauthorized people cannot watch installation. PennDOT must offer online vehicle-list changes, device transfers, and removal requests, with responses within five business days. Beginning 38 months after enactment, vendors must use an electronic eligibility check, give drivers a free copy, and install within a reasonable time of eligibility. During the transition, PennDOT must determine both license eligibility dates together, starting 30 days after the transition section takes effect and ending when the new license section takes effect.

Interlock certificates protect authorized suspended drivers

PennDOT gives interlock license holders a certificate showing their authority to drive an equipped vehicle during suspension. A Pennsylvania judge must dismiss a qualifying driving-while-suspended charge when the driver shows the certificate before or at the hearing. The law also establishes a procedure for substantially similar out-of-state citations.

Drivers gain protections against improper charges

Vendors generally cannot charge for installation without a PennDOT restoration letter or earlier than 30 business days before eligibility. Without the letter, vendors must verify no interlock-license requirement, confirm a valid license, and obtain a signed voluntary-installation statement. Vendors must refund or cancel improper installation or removal charges, with exceptions for compliant vendors facing later PennDOT record changes. Signing the voluntary statement bars the specified written complaint. PennDOT can impose up to $5,000 per violation and seek vendor decertification.

Workers can drive qualifying employer vehicles

Employees with interlock requirements can drive employer-owned vehicles without a device when driving is required for their work. The employer must be notified, and the employee must carry the required form with a notarized acknowledgment and contact number. The exception excludes vehicles available for personal use or owned by a business the employee partly or fully owns or controls. It also excludes school vehicles and vehicles designed for more than 15 people, including the driver.

Police gain testing and blood-draw authority

Implied consent for breath or blood testing now covers the specified aggravated interlock offense when police have reasonable grounds. At police request, paramedics can assist with legal blood draws for listed vehicle offenses within their scope of practice. Existing liability protections apply. EMS vehicles can be used only under policies preserving availability for 911 calls. A court can allow the witnessing officer, rather than the paramedic, to testify about the sample's chain of custody.

Interlock devices must meet alcohol standards

Required interlock devices must prevent starting or operating a vehicle unless the driver's breath sample shows alcohol below 0.025%. PennDOT approves devices and sends approval notices for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Existing device approvals and installation, maintenance, and inspection contracts continue until replacement approvals and contracts are in place.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

  • Ed Neilson

    Democratic • House

Cosponsors

  • Aaron Bernstine

    Republican • House

  • Benjamin V. Sanchez

    Democratic • House

  • Bud Cook

    Republican • House

  • Carol Hill-Evans

    Democratic • House

  • Christopher M. Rabb

    Democratic • House

  • Dan K. Williams

    Democratic • House

  • Emily Kinkead

    Democratic • House

  • G. Roni Green

    Democratic • House

  • Jeanne McNeill

    Democratic • House

  • Jeremy Shaffer

    Republican • House

  • Jim Haddock

    Democratic • House

  • Joe Ciresi

    Democratic • House

  • Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz

    Democratic • House

  • Jose Giral

    Democratic • House

  • Joseph C. Hohenstein

    Democratic • House

  • Kerry A. Benninghoff

    Republican • House

  • Kristine C. Howard

    Democratic • House

  • Martin T. Causer

    Republican • House

  • Maureen E. Madden

    Democratic • House

  • Melissa Cerrato

    Democratic • House

  • Russ Diamond

    Republican • House

  • Sean Dougherty

    Democratic • House

  • Steven R. Malagari

    Democratic • House

  • Steven C. Mentzer

    Republican • House

  • Tina Pickett

    Republican • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 468 • No: 9

Senate vote • 7/12/2026

House Bill 1862 PN3768, Final Passage

Yes: 45 • No: 5

Senate vote • 7/11/2026

House Bill 1862 PN3685 A04183, FARRY Amendment No. A-4183

Yes: 46 • No: 4

committee vote • 7/10/2026

22 0

Yes: 22 • No: 0

Senate vote • 6/23/2026

House Bill 1862 PN3510 A03765, WARD, J. Amendment No. A-3765

Yes: 49 • No: 0

committee vote • 6/3/2026

14 0

Yes: 14 • No: 0

House vote • 10/28/2025

House Bill 1862 PN2416, FINAL PASSAGE

Yes: 203 • No: 0

committee vote • 10/28/2025

37 0

Yes: 37 • No: 0

committee vote • 10/7/2025

26 0

Yes: 26 • No: 0

committee vote • 10/7/2025

26 0

Yes: 26 • No: 0

Actions Timeline

  1. Act No. 36 of 2026

    7/20/2026Governor
  2. Approved by the Governor

    7/20/2026Governor
  3. Presented to the Governor

    7/12/2026House
  4. Signed in Senate

    7/12/2026House
  5. Signed in House

    7/12/2026House
  6. House concurred in Senate amendments (202-0)

    7/12/2026House
  7. Re-reported on concurrence, as committed

    7/12/2026House
  8. Referred to Rules

    7/12/2026House
  9. Third consideration and final passage (45-5)

    7/12/2026Senate
  10. Amended on third consideration (46-4)

    7/11/2026Senate
  11. Re-reported as committed

    7/10/2026Senate
  12. Re-referred to Appropriations

    6/23/2026Senate
  13. Amended on third consideration (49-0)

    6/23/2026Senate
  14. Second consideration

    6/10/2026Senate
  15. First consideration

    6/3/2026Senate
  16. Reported as amended

    6/3/2026Senate
  17. Referred to Transportation

    11/11/2025Senate
  18. Third consideration and final passage (203-0)

    10/28/2025House
  19. Re-reported as committed

    10/28/2025House
  20. Re-committed to Appropriations

    10/27/2025House
  21. Second consideration

    10/27/2025House
  22. Removed from table

    10/8/2025House
  23. Laid on the table

    10/7/2025House
  24. First consideration

    10/7/2025House
  25. Reported as amended

    10/7/2025House

Bill Text

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