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
Amending House Rule 45 (a), further providing for government
oversight committee.
RESOLVED, That House Rule 45 (a) be amended to read:
RULE 45 (a)
Government Oversight Committee
The Government Oversight Committee shall consist of nine
members, five of whom shall be members of the majority party
appointed by the Majority Leader and four of whom shall be
members of the minority party appointed by the Minority Leader.
The Majority Leader shall appoint the chair and secretary for
the committee. The Minority Leader shall appoint the minority
chair for the committee. A majority of the members of the
committee shall constitute a quorum.
The members of the committee shall first meet upon the call
of the chair and perfect its organization. The committee shall
have the power to promulgate rules not inconsistent with this
rule or the Rules of the House that may be necessary for the
orderly conduct of its business.
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The chair of the committee shall notify all members on the
committee at least 24 hours in advance of the date, time and
place of meetings and, insofar as possible, the subjects on the
agenda. Meetings may be called from time to time by the chair of
the committee as the chair deems necessary.
The committee shall be authorized and empowered to do all of
the following:
(1) Conduct hearings at any place in this Commonwealth to
investigate any matter referred to the committee by the Speaker,
the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader. Referred matters
shall be confidential unless the chair and minority chair agree
in writing to make the referral public, must relate to executive
agencies and administrative actions and may not include matters
which are:
(a) under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ethics;
(b) under the jurisdiction of the Committee on
Appropriations, except matters which may incidentally include
information related to expenditures of public money; or
(c) within the scope of an adopted House resolution
authorizing and empowering a standing committee, subcommittee or
select committee to investigate any matter.
Unless in conflict with the provisions of this rule, Rule 51
shall be applicable to hearings of the committee concerning
referred matters.
(2) Pursuant to Article II, sections 9 and 11 of the
Constitution of Pennsylvania, the committee shall establish a
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Election Observer Program
to ensure election integrity. Thirty days prior to an election
for a Pennsylvania House of Representative's legislative
district, a current member of the Pennsylvania House of
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Representatives or a current candidate for a Pennsylvania House
of Representatives legislative district may make an official
request, dated and in writing, to the Majority or Minority
Leaders of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives or the
chair or minority chair of the committee to send a bipartisan
team of official election observers to an identified election.
Upon receipt of a request under this paragraph:
(a) the committee shall have the authority to send official
election observers to observe polling locations, locations where
processing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, recounting,
auditing or certifying voting results is occurring or any other
part of the process associated with elections for any member of
the House of Representatives;
(b) upon request, the committee shall designate, train and
deploy official election observers; and
(c) upon notification of a request under this paragraph, the
chair and minority chair of the committee shall send
notification to the Pennsylvania Department of State and each
county board of elections of which there will be an official
election observer notifying each entity of the following:
(i) That the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will be
exercising its authority powers of election oversight pursuant
to paragraph (2)(a).
(ii) The names of official election observers, accompanied
by proof of completion of certifications or required trainings
and the official contact information for each official election
observer and the House Government Oversight Committee staff.
(iii) An explanation of the PA HEOP and that a designated
official election observer for an election of a member of the
House of Representatives shall be granted full access to clearly
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observe all elements of election administration procedures,
including, but not limited to, access to any area in which a
ballot is cast, processed, scanned, tabulated, canvassed,
recounted, audited or certified, including pre-election, during
and post-election procedures.
(3) An official election observer shall be prohibited from
the following, however, nothing shall prohibit an official
election observer from asking questions of an election worker or
any other State of local official:
(a) handling a ballot or election equipment, whether voting
or nonvoting, or whether tabulating or nontabulating;
(b) verbally or physically advocating for any position or
candidate;
(c) taking any action to reduce ballot secrecy or voter
privacy; or
(d) taking any action that may interfere with the ability of
a voter to cast a ballot or an election administrator to carry
out the election administrator's duties or otherwise interfere
with the election administration process.
(4) The committee shall develop and adopt guidelines for
official election observers to follow and make them available on
a publicly accessible Internet website. Within 30 days after an
election where a request for the PA HEOP has been made, the
committee shall adopt a report that shall include the following:
(a) a complete assessment of the election being observed;
(b) an assessment of how ballots are securely stored; and
(c) the total number of ballots counted and the vote totals
for all candidates listed on the ballot.
[(2)] (5) Any action necessary to fulfill any assignment or
duty given to the committee by any resolution or other rule of
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the House.
Upon completion of the investigation of any matter referred
to the committee, the committee shall file a final report with
the House. A final report of a referred matter shall not be
considered in the committee unless the report has been available
to committee members for at least three days before
consideration, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays,
unless the House is in session on those days. A report on a
referred matter shall be adopted by a majority vote of the
committee members to which the committee is entitled, present at
a committee session actually assembled and meeting as a
committee. Members of the committee may prepare in writing and
file a minority report, setting forth the reasons for their
dissent. Such committee reports shall be filed with the Chief
Clerk within five days of the meeting.
The committee shall not continue to exist after sine die
adjournment of the General Assembly. Investigation of any
referred matter before the committee that has not been concluded
or disposed of by sine die adjournment of the General Assembly
shall cease on such date, and all documents, reports,
communications, transcripts and other materials compiled by the
committee for such matters shall be collected, organized and
submitted to the Chief Clerk under seal for transition to the
reconstituted committee consisting of members appointed from the
incoming General Assembly. These materials shall be held in a
secure manner and nothing in this rule shall authorize the Chief
Clerk or any other person to view such materials. Within 30 days
following the reconstitution of the committee in the next
succeeding legislative term, the committee shall review such
materials and determine whether or not to proceed with a
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referred matter investigated by the former committee.
For purposes of this rule:
"Official election observer" shall mean an individual that
has been designated and successfully completed all training
required by the committee, is a volunteer that does not receive
compensation for services provided as an official election
observer, is considered an employee of the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives for the time period of volunteer service to the
committee and is designated in writing by the chair or minority
chair of the committee to gather information with respect to an
election, including in the event that the election is contested
in the House of Representatives.
"PA HEOP" shall mean the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives Election Observer Program under paragraph (2).
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