York County lawmakers named to lead Pa. House committees. How much power will they wield?

Two York County Republican lawmakers will take on powerful positions in the state House of Representatives — although their level of influence will ultimately be decided by a trio of unrelated special elections.

GOP House leadership named Rep. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township, and Rep. Kate Klunk, R-Hanover, to chair the appropriations and ethics committees, respectively, in the new legislative session. In those roles, Grove could have a lot of say over budget negotiations and Klunk over legislative oversight and investigations.

In November, Democrats won the majority of seats in the chamber — at least on paper — but several of the party's seats were left vacant due to the death of one member and the ascension of two others — Lt. Gov.-elect Austin Davis and U.S. Rep.-elect Summer Lee — to higher office.

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Subsequently, Democrats joined with some Republicans to name what they described as the chamber's "first independent speaker" — a moderate Democrat, Mark Rozzi, from Berks County — to lead the House.

But official control over the chamber won't be decided until Feb. 7, when those three vacant seats in Democratic-leaning districts are filled by a series of special elections.

In naming Grove and Klunk to their committees, Former House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, lambasted the current divide in the House of Representatives.

“Since House Republicans believe continued delay of our chamber’s organization is a detriment to our legislative function," Cutler said in a written statement, "these chairs will immediately begin working."

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Despite Cutler's action, neither Grove nor Klunk will officially become committee chairs until after the committees are finalized under new operating rules — likely to be set by the incoming Democratic majority.

"Given the uncertainty of control of the body, it's leading to lots of moves on the parts of the parties that they think either are good PR for them or bargaining chips in the broader process," said Mulhenberg College political science professor Chris Borick.

The results of the special elections will ultimately decide whether Grove and Klunk serve as majority chairs, who hold a great deal of power over the agendas of their respective committees, or possibly as minority chairs with comparatively little sway over the direction of policy.

Even if Democrats win all three special elections, political analyst G. Terry Madonna said the resulting one-member majority would leave Rozzi and the Democratic state House caucus with limited power. Such a majority means that it only takes a single Democratic "no" vote to sink a piece of legislation.

"There's a measure of instability," Madonna said.

Klunk, in an interview with The York Dispatch, said she was named as chair due to seniority and because the Republican Ethics chair has traditionally been a licensed attorney. She has served on the Ethics committee since the 2019-2020 term.

"At this point, I can't really speak to much because we don't have House rules at this point and we don't have a constituted committee," Klunk said. "At this point, I have just been selected by my Republican leadership as chair."

Traditionally, Ethics has been constituted by four Republicans and four Democrats. Klunk said the committee reviews allegations against representatives, provides ethics training for members and provides advisory opinions for lawmakers on questions of ethics.

Borick said Grove's appointment is an indicator of his ascension through the caucus over the years. Since his election to the House in 2008, Grove has served on several committees, including chair of the Government Oversight Committee during the 2019-2020 term and chair of the House State Government Committee during the 2021-2022 term.

Grove did not respond to requests for comment about his plans for the upcoming session.

On Tuesday, Grove held a financial discussion with Secretary of Treasury Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Timothy DeFoor in which only Republicans appeared. Greg Gross, a spokesman for the York County Republican House delegation, said Democrats were invited but did not attend.

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Republicans, including Cutler, sued to block Democrats from scheduling two of the three special elections needed to determine House control until later in the year. Both parties agreed on a special election to replace the late Tony DeLuca on Feb. 7 but disagreed on the timing of the two other elections triggered by two former Democrats resigning to take higher office. Democratic Leader Rep. Joanna McClinton had sworn herself in early and used that authority to schedule all three special elections for Feb. 7.

In response to what Cutler called a "paperwork insurrection," he swore himself in as Speaker and scheduled the other two elections for May, which would've kept the House of Representatives under Republican control, at the time claiming it would be easier on Allegheny County elections staff.

The Commonwealth Court ruled in January that all three special elections should be held Feb. 7. Cutler released a statement claiming that "the court took the path of least resistance and thereby weakened the foundations of our republic and faith in the rule of law."

The House Democratic Caucus did not return a request for comment.

— Reach Matt Enright via email at menright@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @Matthew_Enright.