By Bridget K. Guilfoyle, Chief Counsel | May 28, 2025 | Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission, Michael A. Schwartz, Chair
On behalf of Chair Michael A. Schwartz and Vice Chair David L. Reddecliff, I am posting this message and information below for those in the ethics community regarding an early draft of the proposed regulations of the State Ethics Commission (“Commission”). Please read below for more details.
The members of the Commission recognized several years ago the need to update its regulations, as there had not been any significant revisions in 30 years. On April 19, 2024, a substantial number of technical changes to the Commission’s regulations were promulgated through the streamlined final-omitted rulemaking process. Following completion of that process, a working group of Commission staff and several Commission members began working on proposed substantive changes. The attached exposure draft is the product of those efforts.
Also attached is the draft of the proposed Preamble, which is a document that precedes the regulatory text when a proposed or final rulemaking is published and provides the background and purpose of the proposed rulemaking, as well as a detailed description of the proposed changes.
The Commission is posting this exposure draft to seek input and feedback from the regulated community and those that represent public officials and public employees. The exposure draft is only the first step in a lengthy process to review and refine the language of the regulations. The amendments to the regulations will be effective only upon publication of the final form rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Your feedback plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and stakeholder involvement in the regulatory process. The Commission encourages you to take the opportunity to review the information in the exposure draft and Preamble and provide comments and feedback via mail to my attention at the following address: State Ethics Commission, Finance Building, 613 North Street, Room 309, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0400; or via email to bguilfoyle@pa.gov on or before Friday, June 27, 2025. In addition, the Commission intends to discuss this exposure draft at its regularly scheduled meeting on July 23, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., and invites any interested stakeholders to attend the meeting, which will be held in Room 307 of the Finance Building, 613 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120.
Please note that this proposed rulemaking is a DRAFT, and the information contained therein is for discussion purposes only and does not represent the official or final position of the Commission. Its content is subject to change pending final approval by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.
The proposed Preamble and exposure draft can be found at the link below: