House Government Oversight Committee #
Website #
Membership, meeting schedule, videos, legislation, transcripts, and reports available on website.
Purpose/Jurisdiction #
“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.
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:
- 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:
- under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ethics;
- under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Appropriations, except matters which may incidentally include information related to expenditures of public money; or
- 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.
- Any action necessary to fulfill any assignment or duty given to the committee by any resolution or other rule of 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 referred matter investigated by the former committee” (House Rule 45(A)).
