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HB133 creates a legal pathway in Pennsylvania for reinstatement of parental rights after termination, with structured eligibility, court oversight, and child-centered protections.
OUR POSITIONHB133 passed the Pennsylvania House on June 22, 2026, by a vote of 191 to 11 and now awaits action in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The American Council supports this bill and urges every senator to vote yes. The bill creates an entirely new Chapter 30 in Pennsylvania law establishing a formal, court-supervised process for reinstatement of parental rights after termination. This is a significant and long-overdue reform that serves children, families, and the integrity of the child welfare system.
The bill is carefully bounded. A reinstatement petition may only be filed after the termination order is final, and only when at least 15 months have elapsed since that order or the child is at least 17 years old. Former parents whose rights were involuntarily terminated on the most serious statutory grounds are categorically barred from filing. The pathway is also limited to cases where termination originally resulted from an agency-filed petition. These are not loopholes; they are deliberate guardrails that protect against misuse while preserving a genuine second chance where circumstances have genuinely changed.
The bill centers the child at every stage. Any child aged 14 or older may file a petition on their own behalf. The petition must include the child's position on reinstatement when the child is 12 or older. The court must appoint counsel or a guardian ad litem who is an attorney to represent the child's legal and best interests, and if those interests conflict, the guardian ad litem may move for separate legal counsel. When a child is already represented, the bill requires continuity by mandating appointment of the same attorney. These provisions reflect a serious commitment to the child's voice and independent representation.
Financial barriers are addressed directly. The court must appoint counsel for a former parent who cannot afford representation or for whom payment would cause substantial financial hardship. The same protection extends to each adoptive parent. Investigation costs are waived for parties eligible for in forma pauperis status. Justice should not depend on a family's bank account, and this bill moves Pennsylvania in that direction.
The American Council believes that permanency for children is best served by law that can respond to changed realities. When a child has not been adopted after more than a year, or when an adoptive placement has broken down, the law should offer a structured, transparent, and protective path rather than a permanent dead end. HB133 provides exactly that. We call on every Pennsylvania senator to support this bill and move it to the Governor's desk without delay.
HB133 passed the Pennsylvania House on June 22, 2026, by a vote of 191 to 11, a margin that reflects broad bipartisan agreement in that chamber, and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 25, 2026. The bill's referral to Appropriations before final House passage suggests fiscal review was part of its path, which may signal similar scrutiny in the Senate. Pennsylvania legislative sessions operate under calendar pressure, and a bill arriving in the Senate this late in June faces a narrowing window before the legislative calendar tightens. Constituent contact with Senate Judiciary Committee members is most consequential right now, while the bill is in committee and before any floor scheduling decisions have been made.