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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the voters of Allegheny County to thoroughly consider the impacts of and vote upon a referendum question amending Article I of the Constitution of the Commonwealth to incorporate a victim's bill of rights, colloquially known as Marsy's Law.
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WHEREAS, in 2018, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed SB1011, a bill which started the process of amending the Constitution of the Commonwealth in order to incorporate a victim's bill of rights, by a vote of 197-0 in the House of Representatives and 48-0 in the Senate; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the procedural requirements governing amending the Constitution of the Commonwealth found in Article XI, Section 1, the General Assembly passed an identical HB276 in 2019 by a vote of 190-8 in the House of Representatives and 50-0 in the Senate; and
WHEREAS, per Article XI, Section 1, the passage of the bill in identical forms in two consecutive sessions of the Assembly authorizes the placement of the amendment on the ballot for approval by the Commonwealth's voters; and
WHEREAS, a referendum question authorizing the amendment of the Constitution of the Commonwealth will appear on the ballot at the November 2019 general election; and
WHEREAS, passage of the referendum question is the final step in the process of enacting the proposed amendment; and
WHEREAS, the amendment would establish new guaranteed rights under the Constitution of the Commonwealth, drafted as follows: To secure for victims justice and due process throughout the criminal and juvenile justice systems, a victim shall have the following rights, as further provided and as defined by the General Assembly, which shall be protected in a manner no less vigorous than the rights afforded to the accused: to be treated with fairness and respect for the victim's safety, dignity and privacy; to have the safety of the victim and the victim's family considered in fixing the amount of bail and release co...
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