HARRIBURG – Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover) was joined by colleagues today as he took the oath of office for the new legislative session. Just after he was sworn in, Grove was named chairman of the House State Government Committee, a role he held in the interim at the end of the 2019-20 session.
“I count myself very fortunate to represent the people of the 196th District. I renewed my commitment to serving all residents and ensuring their collective voice is heard loud and clear in Harrisburg,” Grove said. “To be formally named the chair of the House State Government Committee is truly an honor and one I continue to take very seriously as we dive into the work at hand.”
As part of the swearing-in day session, the House adopted the rules for the 2021-22 session. Among the rule changes adopted today were a series Grove had a hand in helping to craft. One ends non-controversial resolutions, which takes away valuable time from addressing and debating bills that impact Pennsylvanians. Another ensures the House Government Oversight Committee, which Grove served as its first chairman, will continue to function until the Nov. 30 sine die, which is the last day of the biannual session. The new rules include language moving toward giving standing committees subpoena power. Lastly, the State Government Committee reformed its subcommittee structure to realign them on the areas of oversight for the committee:
• Subcommittee on Government Operations
• Subcommittee on Government Information Technology and Communication
• Subcommittee on Government Integrity and Transparency
• Subcommittee on Public Pensions, Benefits, and Risk Management
• Subcommittee on Campaign Finance and Elections
“These subcommittees will be active and engaged this session providing policy development and oversight operations into their specific areas,” Grove said. “By utilizing the subcommittees, the full committee can focus on its two goals this session of comprehensive election reform and congressional redistricting.”
As chairman of the House State Government Committee, the committee will continue the oversight of the 2020 election from last session and dive deep into Pennsylvania’s 1937 election law, so voters have faith in the process and the results.
“Never in my time in office, or my life, has an election led to such divide in our country,” Grove said. “There has been an enormous amount of disinformation and rumors circulating and it is our goal to address this by seeking out the truth surrounding the election and how it was handled.”
Grove seeks to accomplish the goal through a series of comprehensive hearings to review the Commonwealth’s election law and election operations of the state and county governments. The committee will address any and all issues arising from how elections are conducted. A
tentative schedule of the hearings and topics are as follows:
• Jan. 21: Department of State’s election guidance.
• Jan. 28: SURE System, the election management system and other election information technology.
• Feb. 4: Review of Election Audits: Office of the Auditor General, 2% Audits, and Risk-Limiting Audits.
• Feb. 11: Voter registration.
• Feb. 18: Certification of voting machines.
• Feb. 25: Operation of voting machines with demonstrations.
• March 4: Mail-in and absentee ballots.
• March 11: Contracted vendors.
• March 18: County election day operations.
• March 25: Election integrity policies.
• April 1: Overview of how other states conduct elections.
• April 8: Stakeholders.
• April 15: Proposed election legislation and member testimony.
• April 22: Any further election matters.
Additional information, including the location and times of the virtual hearings, will be released closer to the date of the first hearing.
Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
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