HB 1935 | Sentencing enhancement for terroristic threats

Session: 2025-2026

ACLU-PA Position: Opposes

HB 1935 (PN 2434) would create a sentencing enhancement for individuals convicted of making terroristic threats against a school or institution of higher education. The bill seeks to impose additional penalties beyond those already provided under current law, which already classifies such conduct as a felony of the third degree when it causes an evacuation, lockdown, or disruption from normal operations.

HB 1935 is unnecessary and counterproductive. Current statutes already address the conduct with appropriate severity. Adding a new sentencing enhancement serves only to increase incarceration exposure without adding deterrent value or improving public safety. While the proposal does not label the enhancement as a “mandatory minimum,” in practice it functions like one by automatically elevating penalties and constraining judicial discretion. This approach eliminates the ability of courts to consider context, motive, or mitigating factors, elements that are central to fair sentencing.

Pennsylvania’s sentencing guidelines were developed to ensure consistency, fairness, and proportionality across cases. Blanket enhancements override those principles and substitute legislative rigidity for judicial judgment. They risk producing sentences that are out of step with the actual harm caused or the offender’s culpability, especially when existing statutes already treat the conduct as a felony.

Governor Shapiro signed HB 1935 into law on October 22, 2026 as Act 75 of 2026.