All Roll Calls
Yes: 542 • No: 1
PennsylvaniaHB 9612025-2026 Regular SessionHouse
An Act amending Title 30 (Fish) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in dams, bar racks and migration devices, further providing for marking of dams.
Sponsored By: Natalie Mihalek (Republican)
Signed by Governor
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Criminal charges for dam zone violations
For failures to meet initial notice or marking duties, first offenses are first-degree summary offenses; later offenses are third-degree misdemeanors. Maintenance violations start as second-degree summary offenses, with later offenses treated as first-degree summary offenses. Violations of the related exclusion-zone requirements are third-degree summary offenses. Each 15-day period of noncompliance counts separately, and later periods can be prosecuted before earlier cases are decided. Entering a marked exclusion zone is a third-degree summary offense, except for owners, permittees, and state or local officers doing maintenance, enforcement, or rescue; agents are no longer expressly exempt.
Dam owners face shorter repair deadlines
Owners and permittees can appeal a DEP determination to the Environmental Hearing Board within 30 days of receiving notice. If the Board upholds it, they must comply within three months, rather than six. When signs or buoys are damaged by an act of God or someone else, owners and permittees must repair or replace them within 15 days of learning of the damage. The Commission can extend the deadline when repairs are dangerous or impracticable; then work is due as soon as reasonably practicable. If an owner or agent removes signs or buoys, they must be replaced within five days.
Warnings and maps for hazardous dams
DEP must keep a current list of covered dams, including owner and location details, and share identifying data with the Fish and Boat Commission each year. A covered dam carries water over its structure and can create a roller or boil that may trap people below at certain flows. An owner includes anyone who owns, controls, operates, maintains, or manages the dam; a permittee holds a permit to build, operate, or maintain it. DEP and the Commission must post the list and a map of known dams within one year after this rule takes effect. The law takes effect 60 days after enactment. DEP must notify owners and permittees in writing within three months of finding an unlisted dam; they then have six months to install approved signs and buoys above and below the dam and along nearby banks during required seasons.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Natalie Mihalek
Republican • House
Cosponsors
Anita Astorino Kulik
Democratic • House
Chris Pielli
Democratic • House
Danilo Burgos
Democratic • House
David M. Delloso
Democratic • House
Gina H. Curry
Democratic • House
Jeremy Shaffer
Republican • House
Jim Haddock
Democratic • House
Joe Hogan
Republican • House
John C. Inglis III
Democratic • House
Kristin Marcell
Republican • House
Liz Hanbidge
Democratic • House
R. Lee James
Republican • House
Regina G. Young
Democratic • House
Robert Freeman
Democratic • House
Robert E. Merski
Democratic • House
Tina M. Davis
Democratic • House
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 10/19/2026
House Bill 961 PN4053, FINAL PASSAGE
Yes: 203 • No: 0
committee vote • 10/19/2026
37 0
Yes: 37 • No: 0
House vote • 10/19/2026
House Bill 961, MOTION TO PROCEED TOPPER, HB 961 HB2706 HB1667 SB 1260
Yes: 202 • No: 1
committee vote • 10/19/2026
11 0
Yes: 11 • No: 0
committee vote • 10/19/2026
37 0
Yes: 37 • No: 0
committee vote • 11/18/2025
26 0
Yes: 26 • No: 0
committee vote • 11/18/2025
26 0
Yes: 26 • No: 0
Actions Timeline
Act No. 69 of 2026
10/22/2026GovernorApproved by the Governor
10/22/2026GovernorPresented to the Governor
10/22/2026SenateSigned in Senate
10/22/2026SenateSigned in House
10/21/2026SenateThird consideration and final passage (50-0)
10/21/2026SenateRe-reported as committed
10/20/2026SenateRe-referred to Appropriations
10/20/2026SenateSecond consideration
10/20/2026SenateFirst consideration
10/19/2026SenateReported as committed
10/19/2026SenateReferred to Game & Fisheries
10/19/2026SenateThird consideration and final passage (203-0)
10/19/2026HouseRe-reported as amended
10/19/2026HouseAmended in House Committee on Appropriations
10/19/2026HouseRe-committed to Appropriations
10/7/2026HouseSecond consideration
10/7/2026HouseRemoved from table
10/6/2026HouseLaid on the table
11/18/2025HouseFirst consideration
11/18/2025HouseReported as amended
11/18/2025HouseReferred to Game & Fisheries
3/19/2025House
Bill Text
PN 4053
10/19/2026
PN 2619
11/18/2025
PN 1038
3/19/2025
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