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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | November 1, 2021 03:08 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Dan Moul |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Limitations on “Acting” Secretaries |
| In the near future, I will introduce legislation to specifically address the authority of an Acting Department Secretary. As you may know, the Administrative Code provides that “Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the office of the head of any department, such deputy as the Governor shall- designate in writing shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of the head of the department until the vacancy is filled.” Recently, we witnessed the Governor withdrawing his nominations for Department heads from the Pennsylvania Senate, and opting to have certain departments led by “Acting” Secretaries instead. The allowance in the law to appoint an “Acting” Secretary was intended to be a stopgap measure to allow an executive agency to continue to operate during the pendency of a Secretary’s confirmation by the Senate. Unfortunately, the Governor has effectively “taken his ball and gone home.” Further exacerbating this situation, the “Acting” Secretary of Health issued an executive order in direct contravention of the Commonwealth Documents Law and to avoid legislative review under the Regulatory Review Act. This abuse of discretion – by both the Governor and the “Acting” Secretary – cannot be tolerated. My legislation is relatively straightforward. It provides that an “Acting” Secretary shall have no authority to issue an executive order that purports to have the force of effect of law. Please join me in this effort to stop this administration from further abusing its authority. . |