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  Changes recommended for House Ethics Committee

 

HARRISBURG, Oct. 3 – In another step toward reforming the operations of the House of Representatives, the Rules Committee today voted unanimously to advance for consideration by the full House a plan to increase the authority and independence of the chamber’s Ethics Committee.

 

The changes are the result of work done this spring by the Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform. The 24 members of the commission, led by Reps. Josh Shapiro and David Steil, co-sponsored the resolution (H.R. 263).

 

“The members and leadership of the House are sincere in their commitment to reform,” said Speaker Dennis O’Brien. “We demonstrated that by listening to the people of Pennsylvania and adopting more than 30 changes to the House rules earlier this year.

 

“The pending changes to the structure and duties of the Ethics Committee are a continuation of reform.”

 

Currently, the House Ethics Committee consists of eight members, all of whom are named by the majority and minority leaders. The measure approved today would change how members of the Ethics Committee are chosen.

 

Each party’s leader would still name two representatives to the Ethics Committee, but two other members from each party would be chosen at random from a pool of representatives who express willingness to take on the added duty.

 

In addition, two alternate members would be chosen from each party, one by the leader and one by random selection. These four alternates would be available if needed to fill in for any of the committee’s eight members.

 

“Most people have little idea of what the Ethics Committee’s duties are,” O’Brien said. “With these changes, we are defining additional specific tasks that the committee must handle.

 

“Service on this committee will require a serious commitment by legislators who care about the House as an institution. The added duties of the committee will demand dedication and hard work from all the members,” O’Brien said.

 

The resolution would increase the responsibilities of Ethics Committee members and increase accountability of all members of the House. It would:

 

• require during each term that all House members attend two hours of training on ethics issues, with the training designed and offered by the Ethics Committee;
• instruct the Ethics Committee to produce a handbook on ethics to advise members and staff on conflicts of interest and proper performance of duties;
• give the Ethics Committee authority to recommend actions to be taken by the House as appropriate in specific instances of unethical or illegal conduct;
• state that committee advisory opinions sought by House members or employees shall remain confidential and apply exclusively to the requestor.