HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 2023 law giving the state Attorney General’s Office concurrent authority to prosecute crimes on SEPTA property in Philadelphia, preserving the mass-transit prosecutor through its scheduled expiration at the end of 2026 unless lawmakers extend the program.
The unanimous ruling rejected a constitutional challenge brought by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office against Act 40, which created the special prosecutor position and shifted some prosecutorial authority over crimes on the transit system to the state.
The court concluded that the district attorney’s office failed to establish that Act 40 violated the Pennsylvania Constitution. Chief Justice Debra Todd authored the majority opinion, while Justice David Wecht filed a concurring opinion.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office had challenged the law after it was enacted in December 2023, arguing that it improperly displaced authority vested in the locally elected district attorney and amounted to unconstitutional special legislation targeting Philadelphia.
The Commonwealth Court rejected the challenge in 2024, sending the dispute to the state Supreme Court on appeal.
Act 40 requires the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor with jurisdiction over offenses committed on SEPTA property in Philadelphia. The state prosecutor works alongside Philadelphia police, SEPTA police and other agencies rather than replacing the district attorney’s authority entirely.
Attorney General Dave Sunday said the prosecutor’s current caseload includes homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, illegal firearm possession, theft and assaults against SEPTA employees and passengers.
“Our position from the start has been that this legislative action was warranted and within the bounds of the law,” Sunday said.
Sunday characterized the state prosecutor as a “force multiplier” for transit-related cases and cited attacks against SEPTA employees among the offenses handled by the office.
The ruling resolves the constitutional challenge but leaves the program’s longer-term future to the General Assembly. Act 40 is scheduled to expire at the end of 2026, meaning lawmakers would have to extend its authorization for the prosecutor to continue operating next year.
Sunday called on lawmakers to do so, saying the Attorney General’s Office would “recommend an extension of the mass transit prosecutor into next year by the legislature.”
The General Assembly approved Act 40 in 2023, and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it into law that December.
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