Friday, October 30, 2026Verify to vote
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

615 laws of the 1790s

Constitution of 1790

  1. Extend the period heretofore allowed for applying for donation lands and to regulate the mode for authenticating claims thereto

    Ch. 2081 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 328 · 1799 · Original text

  2. Declare Fishing creek and one of its branches in the county of Northumberland public highways

    Ch. 2082 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 329 · 1799 · Original text

  3. Empowering certain trustees therein named to sell and dispose of a certain tract of land situate partly in Upper and partly in Lower Mount Bethel townships in the county of Northampton and to appropriate the moneys arising from the sale thereof

    Ch. 2083 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 330 · 1799 · Original text

  4. Supplement to the act entitled "An act for opening and establishing a road between the navigable waters of the Frankstown branch of the river Juniata and the river Conemaugh."

    Ch. 2084 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 332 · 1799 · Original text

  5. Supplement to the act entitled "An act for the regulation of apprentices."

    Ch. 2085 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 334 · 1799 · Original text

  6. Continue for an additional period "An act for instituting a board of property and for other purposes therein mentioned."

    Ch. 2086 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 336 · 1799 · Original text

  7. Completing the education of John Konkapot, jr.

    Ch. 2087 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 336 · 1799 · Original text

  8. Enable aliens in certain cases to purchase and hold real estates within this commonwealth

    Ch. 2088 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 337 · 1799 · Original text

  9. Enable the governor to appoint commissioners to ascertain the best route between the waters of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay and appropriating a sum of money for opening the navigation of the river Susquehanna down to the Maryland line

    Ch. 2089 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 338 · 1799 · Original text

  10. Concerning writs of partition

    Ch. 2090 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 340 · 1799 · Original text

  11. Supply certain defects in the acts incorporating the city of Philadelphia and sundry towns and boroughs within this commonwealth and to explain and amend "An act to alter and amend the several acts ... incorporating the city of Philadelphia," etc.

    Ch. 2091 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 343 · 1799 · Original text

  12. Extend, for a limited time an act entitled "A further supplement to the act entitled 'An act for making an artificial road from the city of Philadelphia to the borough of Lancaster and for other purposes.' "

    Ch. 2092 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 347 · 1799 · Original text

  13. Authorize the governor to procure on loan the sum of $100,000, to suspend for a limited time "An act to provide arms for the use of this commonwealth" to provide for the settlement of the accounts of the brigade inspectors and for other purposes

    Ch. 2093 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 348 · 1799 · Original text

  14. Establishing a health office for securing the city and port of Philadelphia from the introduction of pestilential and contagious diseases

    Ch. 2094 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 352 · 1799 · Original text

  15. Raise and collect county rates and levies

    Ch. 2095 · 16 Pa. Stat. at Large 375 · 1799 · 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.