Bloom, Grove Sue Governor
HARRISBURG – State Reps. Stephen Bloom (R-Cumberland) and Seth Grove (R-York) today announced they have taken legal action to prevent closure of the Pennsylvania Employee Retirement Commission (PERC) by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, in Commonwealth Court.
The Wolf Administration announced their intention to reassign the statutory
functions of PERC to another agency, cease PERC operations and employment, in a Feb. 3 letter to PERC Chair John Durbin.
"Gov. Tom Wolf is not above the law and cannot simply abolish a statutorily
created independent watchdog agency by his own decree. His unilateral decision to shutter PERC is one more example of his deliberate attempts to circumvent the
legislative process and upset the fundamental constitutional principle of separation of powers. Gov. Wolf’s latest power grab is a step too far; enough is enough" said Bloom and Grove.
PERC has two primary responsibilities, to provide an independent review and
actuarial analysis for all proposed pension reform legislation and to review
Pennsylvania’s municipal pension plans. PERC has fulfilled these
responsibilities for over 30 years, since it was created by the General Assembly in
Act 66 of 1981.
Grove and Bloom issued the following statement regarding their decision to pursue legal action against the governor:
"Pennsylvania law requires PERC to prepare an independent, comprehensive
actuarial analysis of pension legislation. This is the governor’s attempt to
block and delay the debate and enactment of urgently needed public pension reform measures. The governor should not be allowed to artificially interfere with the democratic process by fiat.
"With our decision to file suit against the governor, we are sending a clear
message that the Constitution and statutes of the Commonwealth are to be respected.
We have and will continue to fight for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania from the
governor’s habitual abuse of executive authority."
Electronic copies of the legal documents are available on www.RepBloom.com and
www.RepGrove.com .
