HR 185 — A Resolution amending House Rule 45 (a), further providing for government oversight committee.

PRINTER'S NO.   1321

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 185
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY GROVE, LEADBETER, FEE, RYNCAVAGE, GILLEN, ORTITAY,
        M. MACKENZIE AND BERNSTINE, APRIL 9, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, APRIL 9, 2025


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Amending House Rule 45 (a), further providing for government
 2      oversight committee.
 3      RESOLVED, That House Rule 45 (a) be amended to read:
 4                             RULE 45 (a)
 5                    Government Oversight Committee
 6      The Government Oversight Committee shall consist of nine
 7   members, five of whom shall be members of the majority party
 8   appointed by the Majority Leader and four of whom shall be
 9   members of the minority party appointed by the Minority Leader.
10   The Majority Leader shall appoint the chair and secretary for
11   the committee. The Minority Leader shall appoint the minority
12   chair for the committee. A majority of the members of the
13   committee shall constitute a quorum.
14      The members of the committee shall first meet upon the call
15   of the chair and perfect its organization. The committee shall
16   have the power to promulgate rules not inconsistent with this
17   rule or the Rules of the House that may be necessary for the
18   orderly conduct of its business.
 1      The chair of the committee shall notify all members on the
 2   committee at least 24 hours in advance of the date, time and
 3   place of meetings and, insofar as possible, the subjects on the
 4   agenda. Meetings may be called from time to time by the chair of
 5   the committee as the chair deems necessary.
 6      The committee shall be authorized and empowered to do all of
 7   the following:
 8      (1)   Conduct hearings at any place in this Commonwealth to
 9   investigate any matter referred to the committee by the Speaker,
10   the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader. Referred matters
11   shall be confidential unless the chair and minority chair agree
12   in writing to make the referral public, must relate to executive
13   agencies and administrative actions and may not include matters
14   which are:
15      (a)   under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ethics;
16      (b)   under the jurisdiction of the Committee on
17   Appropriations, except matters which may incidentally include
18   information related to expenditures of public money; or
19      (c)   within the scope of an adopted House resolution
20   authorizing and empowering a standing committee, subcommittee or
21   select committee to investigate any matter.
22      Unless in conflict with the provisions of this rule, Rule 51
23   shall be applicable to hearings of the committee concerning
24   referred matters.
25      (2)   Pursuant to Article II, sections 9 and 11 of the
26   Constitution of Pennsylvania, the committee shall establish a
27   Pennsylvania House of Representatives Election Observer Program
28   to ensure election integrity. Thirty days prior to an election
29   for a Pennsylvania House of Representative's legislative
30   district, a current member of the Pennsylvania House of

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 1   Representatives or a current candidate for a Pennsylvania House
 2   of Representatives legislative district may make an official
 3   request, dated and in writing, to the Majority or Minority
 4   Leaders of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives or the
 5   chair or minority chair of the committee to send a bipartisan
 6   team of official election observers to an identified election.
 7   Upon receipt of a request under this paragraph:
 8      (a)    the committee shall have the authority to send official
 9   election observers to observe polling locations, locations where
10   processing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, recounting,
11   auditing or certifying voting results is occurring or any other
12   part of the process associated with elections for any member of
13   the House of Representatives;
14      (b)    upon request, the committee shall designate, train and
15   deploy official election observers; and
16      (c)    upon notification of a request under this paragraph, the
17   chair and minority chair of the committee shall send
18   notification to the Pennsylvania Department of State and each
19   county board of elections of which there will be an official
20   election observer notifying each entity of the following:
21      (i)    That the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will be
22   exercising its authority powers of election oversight pursuant
23   to paragraph (2)(a).
24      (ii)    The names of official election observers, accompanied
25   by proof of completion of certifications or required trainings
26   and the official contact information for each official election
27   observer and the House Government Oversight Committee staff.
28      (iii)   An explanation of the PA HEOP and that a designated
29   official election observer for an election of a member of the
30   House of Representatives shall be granted full access to clearly

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 1   observe all elements of election administration procedures,
 2   including, but not limited to, access to any area in which a
 3   ballot is cast, processed, scanned, tabulated, canvassed,
 4   recounted, audited or certified, including pre-election, during
 5   and post-election procedures.
 6      (3)   An official election observer shall be prohibited from
 7   the following, however, nothing shall prohibit an official
 8   election observer from asking questions of an election worker or
 9   any other State of local official:
10      (a)   handling a ballot or election equipment, whether voting
11   or nonvoting, or whether tabulating or nontabulating;
12      (b)   verbally or physically advocating for any position or
13   candidate;
14      (c)   taking any action to reduce ballot secrecy or voter
15   privacy; or
16      (d)   taking any action that may interfere with the ability of
17   a voter to cast a ballot or an election administrator to carry
18   out the election administrator's duties or otherwise interfere
19   with the election administration process.
20      (4)   The committee shall develop and adopt guidelines for
21   official election observers to follow and make them available on
22   a publicly accessible Internet website. Within 30 days after an
23   election where a request for the PA HEOP has been made, the
24   committee shall adopt a report that shall include the following:
25      (a)   a complete assessment of the election being observed;
26      (b)   an assessment of how ballots are securely stored; and
27      (c)   the total number of ballots counted and the vote totals
28   for all candidates listed on the ballot.
29      [(2)] (5)   Any action necessary to fulfill any assignment or
30   duty given to the committee by any resolution or other rule of

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 1   the House.
 2      Upon completion of the investigation of any matter referred
 3   to the committee, the committee shall file a final report with
 4   the House. A final report of a referred matter shall not be
 5   considered in the committee unless the report has been available
 6   to committee members for at least three days before
 7   consideration, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays,
 8   unless the House is in session on those days. A report on a
 9   referred matter shall be adopted by a majority vote of the
10   committee members to which the committee is entitled, present at
11   a committee session actually assembled and meeting as a
12   committee. Members of the committee may prepare in writing and
13   file a minority report, setting forth the reasons for their
14   dissent. Such committee reports shall be filed with the Chief
15   Clerk within five days of the meeting.
16      The committee shall not continue to exist after sine die
17   adjournment of the General Assembly. Investigation of any
18   referred matter before the committee that has not been concluded
19   or disposed of by sine die adjournment of the General Assembly
20   shall cease on such date, and all documents, reports,
21   communications, transcripts and other materials compiled by the
22   committee for such matters shall be collected, organized and
23   submitted to the Chief Clerk under seal for transition to the
24   reconstituted committee consisting of members appointed from the
25   incoming General Assembly. These materials shall be held in a
26   secure manner and nothing in this rule shall authorize the Chief
27   Clerk or any other person to view such materials. Within 30 days
28   following the reconstitution of the committee in the next
29   succeeding legislative term, the committee shall review such
30   materials and determine whether or not to proceed with a

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 1   referred matter investigated by the former committee.
 2      For purposes of this rule:
 3      "Official election observer" shall mean an individual that
 4   has been designated and successfully completed all training
 5   required by the committee, is a volunteer that does not receive
 6   compensation for services provided as an official election
 7   observer, is considered an employee of the Pennsylvania House of
 8   Representatives for the time period of volunteer service to the
 9   committee and is designated in writing by the chair or minority
10   chair of the committee to gather information with respect to an
11   election, including in the event that the election is contested
12   in the House of Representatives.
13      "PA HEOP" shall mean the Pennsylvania House of
14   Representatives Election Observer Program under paragraph (2).




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