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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 27, 2024 11:11 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Robert F. Matzie |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Adding PA Athletic Oversight Committee Legislators and the Secretary of Education to the PIAA Executive Board |
| In light of the recent PA Supreme Court decision that ruled that the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) is a public agency, I will be introducing legislation that will make the appointed Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee (PAOC) legislators along with the Secretary of Education permanent voting members of the PIAA executive board. Similar to the composition of the Commonwealth Finance Authority (CFA) and the Pennsylvania Broadband Authority (PBDA), the PIAA will be restructured to entail that any item requiring official action by the executive board be approved unanimously by these seven members. For background, on July 4, 2004, the General Assembly established the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee PAOC. Under the Public School Code, the Committee is comprised of six members; two appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one appointed by the Minority Leader of the House; and two appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate and one appointed by the Minority Leader in the Senate. The PAOC is required to meet annually for the purposes of reviewing the PIAA’s continued compliance with Act 91 of 2000, to respond to issues related to the activities of the Association and to issue an annual report of its findings to the presiding officers in both Chambers. As the longest serving member of the PAOC, I believe we have met those requirements to the best of our abilities. However, we are statutorily limited in our purview and reach, relegated to what is – in effect – an advisory and after-the-fact review body. Actions by the PIAA over the past several years and recent legal rulings against them have shed a light on the need for more direct oversight. It has become clear to me that the PIAA, left to their own volition, does not possess the agility nor the wherewithal to adjust their policies to meet the ever-changing needs of student athletes and parents. That needs to change immediately. Please join me in this effort. |