Jun. 15, 2022

HARRISBURG - The House State Government Committee advanced several bills, including legislation to give law enforcement the tools to combat rampant unemployment fraud and another to improve the system of checks and balances, during its meeting this morning, Chairman Seth Grove (R-York) said.

House Bill 2648 calls for the appointment of a special state prosecutor, under jurisdiction of the Office of Inspector General, tasked with rooting out and prosecuting individuals who have used the COVID-19 pandemic to fleece our Unemployment Compensation system to the tune of more than a half a billion dollars in fraudulent payouts.

Grove’s House Bill 2649 would add two appointments from the two majority leaders in the General Assembly to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC).

“As the IRRC stands, the governor’s appointee generally serves as the tiebreaker when votes between General Assembly caucus-appointed commissioners are tied. Though the commission is meant to be a check on the rulemaking actions of the administration, the governor’s appointee is more or less a super voter with extraordinary powers,” Grove said. “House Bill 2649 would bring balance to the commission and further protect our vital system of checks and balances.”

The committee also advance the following two Senate bills:

Senate Bill 696 would update the Breach of Personal Information Notification Act to require the affected state agency to report a breach of personal information to the impacted individual or individuals within seven days.
Senate Bill 764 would require formal training for Department of State employees regarding their legislative responsibilities and the constitutional amendment process, ensuring these critical requirements never again are allowed to slip through the cracks.

The four bills now go to the full House for consideration.

Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepGrove.com / Facebook.com/RepSethGrove
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