Law note · Pennsylvania
House Bill 78, Attorney General enforcement and private right of action
As amended (PN 3688), HB 78 would give the Attorney General exclusive authority to enforce the Act and would foreclose a private right of action twice over: subsection (b), strengthened by the 2026-06-24 Senate amendment, provides that nothing in the Act creates, is used as the basis or predicate for, or otherwise gives rise to a private right of action; and subsection (c) deems a violation an unfair or deceptive practice under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law but makes that deeming enforceable exclusively by the Attorney General, closing the UDAP route the deeming clause would otherwise open, the same double-foreclosure shape as the enacted breach statute below.
This bill has not been enacted and binds nothing today.
What it asks of an app
- This bill has not been enacted; do not treat its enforcement scheme as binding.
- If enacted as currently amended, expect HB 78 violations to be enforced exclusively by the Attorney General, with no private right of action available under the Act or through its unfair-trade-practice deeming clause.
When LexLint raises it
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Primary source: official Pennsylvania bill text, House Bill 78, Senate Printer's No. 3688, Pennsylvania General Assembly website