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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

2,121 laws of the 1830s

Constitution of 1790

  1. Resolution authorizing the Canal Commissioners to change the location of the Pennsylvania Canal, between North's Island and Millerstown

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  2. Resolution authorizing the Clerk of the Orphans' Court of Berks county to record certain papers in his office, and to perform certain other services, and for other purposes

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  3. Resolution relative to the appointment of Commissioners on the Cumberland Road

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  4. Resolution relative to the claim of Alexander Johnston, and others

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  5. Resolution relative to the building a bridge across the Rail-Road between Duke and Lime streets, in the city of Lancaster

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  6. Resolution relative to the West-Chester Rail-Road Company

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  7. Resolution granting aid to the Johnstown and Ligonier Turnpike Road Company

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  8. Resolution relative to the Franklin and Allegheny Bridge

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  9. Resolution relative to certain undrawn balances in the School Fund

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  10. Resolution relative to the payment of E.P. Hughes, for materials furnished for painting Hall of House of Representatives

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  11. Resolution relative to the Lumberman's Bank

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  12. Resolution for the relief of the children of John Augustin Bousquet, deceased

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  13. Resolution authorizing the erection of a building for an office for the Auditor General, and for other purposes

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  14. Resolution authorizing Mary Donald to change her name to Mary Connelly

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  15. Resolution relative to the Election of County Treasurer in Fayette county

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  16. Resolution relative to the payment of Interest on Public Loans

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  17. Resolutions relative to the Mercer and Great Bend Turnpike Road

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  18. Resolution relative to the moneys borrowed to repair the breach on the Juniata Division of the Pennsylvania canal

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  19. Resolution authorizing the payment of the deficit in the contingent fund of the Land Office

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  20. Resolution relative to the estate of the late John Nicholson and Peter Baynton

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · Original text

  21. Resolution relative to the Wrightsville, York and Gettysburg Railroad Company

    Resolution of 1839 · 1839 · 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.