A bill introduced in the Pennsylvania House on Sept. 18, 2025, would exempt retired residents who receive Social Security or other pensions and whose annual income does not exceed $29,906 from paying driver's license and identification card fees, while imposing a $12 processing fee for each issuance or renewal, according to the bill text.

The measure, House Bill 1870, would add subsection (c.1) to Section 1901 of Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. It says the $29,906 income limit would be adjusted each Jan. 1 thereafter to reflect the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI‑U) for the United States, as published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the adjusted amount rounded to the nearest dollar.

Why it matters: the bill would reduce or eliminate the statutory fee for a defined group of low‑income retirees while creating a separate $12 processing charge to "cover the cost" of issuing or renewing a credential. The CPI‑U adjustment would cause the income threshold to rise over time if the index increases.

Details of the proposal appear in the bill's text. The bill directs "the department" (the agency charged in statute with administering driver's licenses) to transmit notice of the new maximum income amount to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The bill also includes an enactment clause stating it "shall take effect in 60 days." That language describes the bill's intended effective date if it is enacted; the measure has not been enacted into law.

House Bill 1870 was introduced by a group of legislators identified in the bill heading and was referred to the Committee on Transportation on Sept. 22, 2025. The bill text does not record votes or committee actions; its current status is "introduced and referred," which is an early step in the legislative process.

What it does not say: the bill text does not specify the name of the department beyond the statutory term "the department," it does not appropriate funds, and it does not include implementation details such as how eligibility would be verified beyond the income threshold language.

Next steps: the bill will remain in the legislative process and require committee consideration, floor action, and gubernatorial signature before becoming law.