Senator Greenleaf Receives the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's
William E. Zeiter Award
HARRISBURG—Today, at a ceremony held at the Pennsylvania Bar
Institute's headquarters in Mechanicsburg, PA, State Senator Stewart J.
Greenleaf (R-Bucks / Montgomery) was presented with the Bar Institute's William
E. Zeiter Award for his ongoing efforts to complete the consolidation of
Pennsylvania's statutory laws.
The William E. Zeiter award is presented to individuals or
organizations selected by the Statutory Law Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar
Institute who have made extraordinary contributions to the improvement of the
statutory law of Pennsylvania.
Greenleaf is the first legislator to receive the award, not
because of the number of bills the Senator has introduced or passed, but because
of his dedication to ensuring the quality of Pennsylvania's laws.
"Completing the consolidation process is not just in the
interest of Pennsylvania's legal community, but all Pennsylvanians deserve
access to a system of laws that are easily researched and easily understood,"
said Senator Greenleaf. "The laws of our Commonwealth must be brought into the
21st century and compiled into a well organized system."
"Consolidation is the process of revising and restating the
general and permanent public statutes into a concise code of laws that is clear,
consistent and organized. The law on related subjects is placed together and
the language is simplified and put into a more understandable and consistent
format." (Feinberg, Lawrence, G. "Why Pennsylvania Needs Consolidation Now" The
Pennsylvania Lawyer November / December 2007 46-48.)
Pennsylvania remains the only state in the nation without an
official, comprehensive code of statutes. The only compilation of
Pennsylvania's laws is the privately published, Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes.
In 1970, the General Assembly passed a law ordering the
consolidation of Pennsylvania's laws into a uniform editorial structure. After
35 years, the process remains only half completed.
"Many of our state's laws are a patchwork of statutes scattered
throughout various codes, old case law, and state and local regulations," said
Senator Greenleaf. "How can we expect people to obey laws they cannot find and
cannot understand?"
Senator Greenleaf has worked to codify the following
consolidated statute titles through legislation or various task forces:
-
Title 15 (Associations Code) The Senator has worked with the
PBA Title 15 Task Force to both codify and modernize Pennsylvania's business
law. The Senator is currently the prime sponsor of SB632, drafted by the
PBA Title 15 Task Force.
-
Title 18 (Crimes Code) As Senate Judiciary Committee
chairman for 23 years, the Senator has had a major impact on the Crimes
Code. Perhaps, most notably, 1995 special session Act 10, prime-sponsored
by the Senator, re-wrote Chapter 31 (Sexual Offenses).
-
Title 20 (Probate, Estates & Fiduciaries Code) The Senator
chairs the Joint State Government Commission Task Force on Decedents'
Estates Laws which oversees a committee of experts which makes
recommendations on improvements to Title 20. Currently, the Senator is the
sponsor of Senate Bill 1203.
-
Title 23 (Domestic Relations Code) The Senator chaired the
Joint State Government Commission Task Force on Adoption Law. The task
force oversaw an advisory committee of adoption experts which recommended a
re-write of the Adoption Act. The legislation has undergone revisions since
the original recommendations but the Senator introduced the legislation as
Senate Bill 702 this session. The Senator chairs the Joint State Government
Commission on Domestic Relations Law. The task force oversees an advisory
committee which has recommended three pieces of legislation, amendments to
the Divorce Code (2004 Act 175) and changes to the child custody law (Senate
Bill 74) and alimony law (Senate Bill 1520).
-
Title 35 (Health & Safety) The Senator sponsored the
resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to codify the
public health law. The Senator is a member of the Task Force on Public
Health Law that oversees an advisory committee of experts.
-
Title 42 (Judicial Code) As Senate Judiciary Committee
chairman for 23 years, the Senator has had a major impact on the Judicial
Code. The Senator has sponsored legislation adding several chapters to the
Code on everything from mediation to sentencing.
-
Title 61 (Prisons and Parole Code) The Senator is the prime
sponsor of Senate Bill 73 which is the first codification of Title 61.
-
Title 68 (Property Law) The Senator chairs the Joint State
Government Commission Task Force on Real Property Law which oversees an
advisory committee of experts which is completing the codification of Title
68.
