CROWN Act passes PA Senate, heads to governor’s desk
Rep. La'Tasha D. Mayes November 19, 2025
HARRISBURG, Nov. 19 – Legislation to prohibit discrimination based on hair and hairstyles passed the state Senate today by a vote off 44-3.
The PA CROWN Act (H.B. 439), introduced by state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, and House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Phila./Delaware, amends the PA Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination based on a person's hair type, hair texture, or hairstyle. This bill passed the PA House in March with bipartisan support, 194-8.
House Bill 439 is Mayes’ first piece of legislation to be sent to the governor’s desk to become law since she became a state representative in 2022. It has been introduced four different times since 2018.
“I am so thrilled that my legislation to end race-based hair discrimination has passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support,” said Mayes, “The CROWN Act has been a longtime fight toward the overall goal of ending this insidious discrimination in our commonwealth that has impacted the lives and livelihoods of students, workers and Pennsylvania residents simply because of how their hair grows out of their head.
“I want to thank Speaker McClinton for her tireless efforts -- long before I ever became a member of the PA House of Representatives -- to see this bill pass out of the House and Senate, which now heads to the governor’s desk. I also want to thank my staff in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh; the statewide PA CROWN Act coalition of over 100 organizations, businesses, unions, municipalities, and entities that have garnered public support for House Bill 439 all across this commonwealth; Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah, the CROWN Act champion who has led this fight for years at the federal level; the national CROWN Act Coalition; and so many more.”
In the previous legislative session, the CROWN Act (H.B. 1394) passed the House 182-21, but was never brought up for a vote in the Senate.
“Like many other Black women, I have felt pressured to wear my hair a certain way to meet someone else’s expectations,” said McClinton. “It isn’t fair, and it isn’t right. Now, when the CROWN Act becomes law, hair discrimination will be against the law in Pennsylvania.
“This is a victory for everyone who joined our movement for a more equitable commonwealth where everyone is respected, treated with dignity, and can be their authentic self,” she said. “It is a victory for anyone who has felt out of place, unwelcome or discriminated against because of their hair style or texture. Now we can wear our crowns with pride, and our children will grow up in a much better Pennsylvania.”
“The Pennsylvania CROWN Act is landmark legislation for our commonwealth,” Mayes said. “I am honored to serve the people of Pennsylvania, my neighbors in the 24th Legislative District in the city of Pittsburgh. This bill makes our state fairer for more Pennsylvanians by creating a more respectful and open world for natural hair that will change the trajectory of my child’s life and for the children of this commonwealth like my daughter.
“The PA CROWN Act removes another barrier to opportunity for Black Pennsylvanians. While we still have work to do, I want to make sure we celebrate the victories, and this is indeed one of them.”
“For nearly eight consecutive years, I have worked tirelessly with leaders across the country to change laws as well as culture, and mitigate the psychological, economic, and physical harm caused by race-based hair discrimination,” said Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah, a 2-time Temple University graduate who leads the CROWN Act Coalition and is the mastermind championing the national movement. “Grooming policies that reinforce Eurocentric standards of beauty and professionalism perpetuate exclusion and racial inequity.
“Since determining a public policy approach was necessary to redress this problematic practice, and subsequently developing the nationwide legislative, social impact, and coalition building strategies for the movement in 2018, I have been committed to ensuring the CROWN Act becomes law in Pennsylvania,” she said.
“I am so grateful to have Madam Speaker Joanna McClinton and Representative La’Tasha Mayes as partners in this work, and I applaud their leadership.”
Multiple states have passed similar laws to protect people from hair discrimination, and Pennsylvania will soon join that list.
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CONTACT: Molly Peters
House Democratic Communications Office
Phone: 717-787-7895
Email: mpeters@pahouse.net
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