HARRISBURG – The Senate of Pennsylvania approved legislation that would restore balance and transparency on state agency leaders in state government, according to the bill’s sponsors, Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-28) and Cris Dush (R-25).
“When unelected individuals are allowed to serve for months or even years without a single vote by the Senate, it shuts the public out of the process,” Phillips-Hill said. “This bill makes sure that the people of this Commonwealth have a say in these powerful positions through their elected senators, as the Pennsylvania Constitution intended.”
During the past administration, Gov. Tom Wolf appointed 11 individuals to lead various state agencies in the “acting” capacity and never nominated those individuals to the Senate as part of the confirmation process. Additionally, 21 cabinet officials served in the “acting” capacity longer than 90 days.
The senators note that Meg Snead ran the Department of Human Services for more than one-and-a-half years. Dr. Wendy Braund served as acting physician general for nearly two years. George Little directed the Department of Corrections for more than a year, and Leigh Chapman led the Department of State for more than a year, all without Senate approval.
These appointments included nearly every major state agency, including the departments of Health, Education, Environmental Protection, Insurance, Labor and Industry, and Community and Economic Development. This allowed key decisions to be made without public scrutiny or confirmation by the duly elected members of the Senate.
“Especially under Pennsylvania’s most recent governors, ‘acting secretaries’ have operated departments without the constitutional checks and balances of Senate confirmation for indefinite, unchecked periods of time,” confirmed Senate State Government Committee Chairman Dush. “Unfortunately, this illegitimate authority to act has not prevented these unelected, non-confirmed and completely insulated individuals from exercising full executive authority or collecting the full paycheck with benefits of a ‘confirmed secretary.’ The passage of Senate Bill 472 will effectively conclude this non-transparent, executive branch undermining of the intent and purpose of Article IV, Section 8 of our state constitution.”
Senate Bill 472 puts clear boundaries in place. An individual serving in a leadership role without confirmation will be formally designated as “Deputy – Head of Department.” This designation may be used once during a governor’s term. These individuals must appear before the General Assembly during the annual budget process. They will not receive elevated compensation or additional benefits beyond their peers. Most importantly, they will not be allowed to remain indefinitely without Senate review and cannot serve longer than 90 days.
The legislation now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.