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The 1776 Philadelphia ConstitutionThe laws of the land, set down plainly — and put to the people, one provision at a time.

The Pennsylvania Register

Every law Pennsylvania has passed

55,382 acts of the General Assembly, from William Penn’s first assembly in 1682 to 2026. Until 1874 much of the Assembly’s work was “special” legislation for a single person, company or town: a divorce, a road, a tavern license. That year’s constitution barred local and special laws on most subjects, and the yearly count fell; lately it is about 150.

Not yet complete · The state has not yet digitized its session laws act by act for most years between 1851 and 1949. We filled what we could from scans of the printed volumes: every year from 1851 to 1875 and most sessions from 1877 to 1907. A computer read those titles, so they can contain misspellings, and a few acts in each year were missed. Most years from 1909 to 1949 are still thin (marked below). Every other year is complete, from 1682 through 1850 and from 1950 to today.

Clear

46 laws of the 1730s

Province of Pennsylvania

  1. Regulating peddlers, vendues, etc.

    Ch. 308 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 141 · 1730 · Original text

  2. Better enabling divers inhabitants of the province of Pennsylvania to hold lands and to invest them with the privileges of natural-born subjects of the said province

    Ch. 309 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 147 · 1730 · Original text

  3. Lending the sum of 300 pounds in bills of credit for building a prison and court-house in Lancaster county, etc.

    Ch. 310 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 150 · 1730 · Original text

  4. Supplement to the act entitled "An act for preventing clandestine marriages."

    Ch. 311 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 152 · 1730 · Original text

  5. Supplementary act to an act of assembly of this province entitled "An act against buying land of the natives."

    Ch. 312 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 154 · 1730 · Original text

  6. Laying an excise on all wine, rum, brandy and other spirits retailed in this province

    Ch. 313 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 157 · 1730 · Original text

  7. Imposing a duty on persons convicted of heinous crimes and to prevent poor and impotent persons being imported into the province of Pennsylvania

    Ch. 314 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 164 · 1730 · Original text

  8. Relief of insolvent debtors within the province of Pennsylvania

    Ch. 315 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 171 · 1730 · Original text

  9. Continuing the encouragement for raising good hemp within this province and imposing certain penalties on persons manufacturing or working up unsound and unmerchantable hemp into cordage and cables

    Ch. 316 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 184 · 1730 · Original text

  10. Remove the trustees of the general loan office of Pennsylvania and appointing others to execute the said trust

    Ch. 317 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 189 · 1730 · Original text

  11. Prevent the erecting weirs, dams, etc. within the river Schuylkill

    Ch. 318 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 194 · 1730 · Original text

  12. Re-emitting and continuing the currency of such bills of credit of this province as by former acts are directed to be sunk and destroyed

    Ch. 319 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 197 · 1731 · Original text

  13. Enabling religious societies of protestants within this province to purchase lands for burying grounds, churches, houses for worship, schools, etc.

    Ch. 320 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 208 · 1731 · Original text

  14. Amendment of the law entitled "An act for relief of insolvent debtors."

    Ch. 321 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 211 · 1731 · Original text

  15. Better prevention of accidents that may happen by fire in the city of Philadelphia by bake houses and coopers' shops

    Ch. 322 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 215 · 1731 · Original text

  16. Supplement to the law entitled "An act to prevent the killing of deer out of season and against carrying of guns and hunting by persons not qualified."

    Ch. 323 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 217 · 1731 · Original text

  17. Better enabling divers inhabitants of the province of Pennsylvania to hold lands and to invest them with the privileges of natural-born subjects of the said province

    Ch. 324 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 219 · 1731 · Original text

  18. Relief of Benjamin Mayne with respect to the imprisonment of his person

    Ch. 325 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 222 · 1731 · Original text

  19. Disable William Fishbourn from holding any office of trust or profit within this province and secure the payment of a provincial debt due from the said William Fishbourn

    Ch. 326 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 226 · 1731 · Original text

  20. Reviving and continuing the proceedings of the courts of judicature within this province

    Ch. 327 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 229 · 1731 · Original text

  21. Repealing an act entitled "An act for continuing the encouragement for raising good hemp within this province," etc.

    Ch. 328 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 231 · 1732 · Original text

  22. Directing the manner of payment of assemblymen's wages

    Ch. 329 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 233 · 1732 · Original text

  23. Supplementary act to the act for raising county rates and levies

    Ch. 330 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 234 · 1732 · Original text

  24. Reviving an excise on wine, rum, brandy and other spirits

    Ch. 331 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 238 · 1734 · Original text

  25. Prevent the exportation of bread and flour not merchantable

    Ch. 332 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 248 · 1734 · Original text

  26. Confirming the repeal of divers laws of this province

    Ch. 333 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 257 · 1734 · Original text

  27. Better to enable William Fishbourn to discharge the debt due from him to the trustees of the general loan office of this province

    Ch. 334 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 260 · 1734 · Original text

  28. More effectually to prevent the erecting of weirs, dams, etc. within the river Schuylkill

    Ch. 335 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 263 · 1734 · Original text

  29. Supplement to the several acts of assembly of this province for the relief of the poor

    Ch. 336 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 266 · 1735 · Original text

  30. Confirming the election of the commissioners and assessors for the county of Bucks, etc.

    Ch. 337 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 277 · 1735 · Original text

  31. Prevent the damages which may happen by firing of woods

    Ch. 338 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 280 · 1735 · Original text

  32. Better enabling divers inhabitants of the province of Pennsylvania to hold lands and to invest them with the privileges of natural-born subjects of the said province

    Ch. 339 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 283 · 1735 · Original text

  33. More effectual vesting and settling certain lands in George McCall pursuant to the covenants and agreements of all the parties having any interest in the same

    Ch. 340 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 286 · 1735 · Original text

  34. More easy and speedy recovery of small debts

    Ch. 341 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 291 · 1736 · Original text

  35. Supplement to the law for laying out of highways and public roads

    Ch. 342 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 296 · 1736 · Original text

  36. Vesting the state house and other public buildings with the lots of land whereon the same are erected in trustees for the use of this province

    Ch. 343 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 299 · 1736 · Original text

  37. Regulating retailers of liquors near the iron works

    Ch. 344 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 301 · 1736 · Original text

  38. Remove the trustees of the general loan office of Pennsylvania and appointing others to execute the said trust

    Ch. 345 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 304 · 1738 · Original text

  39. Laying an excise on wine, rum, brandy and other spirits

    Ch. 346 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 308 · 1738 · Original text

  40. Supplement to the act entitled "An act for imposing a duty on persons convicted of heinous crimes and to prevent the poor and impotent persons being imported into this province."

    Ch. 347 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 320 · 1738 · Original text

  41. More effectual preserving the credit of our paper money and recovering the proprietary quit-rents

    Ch. 348 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 322 · 1739 · Original text

  42. Better enabling divers inhabitants of this province of Pennsylvania to trade and hold lands within the said province

    Ch. 349 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 326 · 1739 · Original text

  43. Supplement to the act for electing members of assembly

    Ch. 350 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 331 · 1739 · Original text

  44. Supplement to an act of assembly of this province entitled "An act prescribing the forms of declarations of fidelity, adjuration and affirmation instead of the forms heretofore required in such cases."

    Ch. 351 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 337 · 1739 · Original text

  45. More easy and speedy recovery of small debts

    Ch. 352 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 339 · 1739 · Original text

  46. Reprinting, exchanging and re-emitting all the bills of credit of this province and striking the further sum of 11,110 pounds 5 shillings to be emitted upon loan

    Ch. 353 · 4 Pa. Stat. at Large 344 · 1739 · Original text

By decade

Constitution of 19681968–today

Constitution of 18741874–1967

Constitution of 18381838–1873

Constitution of 17901790–1837

Constitution of 17761776–1789

Province of Pennsylvania1682–1775

1682–1801: the Statutes at Large of Pennsylvania. 1802–1974: the Pamphlet Laws (Laws of the General Assembly). Both from the scans published by the Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau, which link to each original page. 1975 onward: the General Assembly’s own record of legislation enacted, which adds approval dates and bill numbers. Years the Bureau hasn’t indexed act by act come from the annual Laws of the General Assembly as scanned by the Internet Archive and Google Books: we split each volume into acts by their approval lines, and each one links to its scanned page. Before 1975 each year’s appropriation acts were scanned as one bundle, so they aren’t listed one by one. Proposed constitutional amendments, vetoed bills and reorganization plans are left out. Subject lines are the Bureau’s and the General Assembly’s, not the laws’ full titles.