Committee assignments announced for local representatives
Following the start of the 2019-20 legislative session on Jan. 1, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives announced committees assignments for members, including those who represent constituents in Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Rep. Justin Walsh, R-Rostraver, was reappointed to the Game and Fisheries Committee and added to the Gaming Oversight, Judiciary, and Labor and Industry committees. Walsh was also appointed as a deputy policy chairman for the House Majority Policy Committee.
In this role, Walsh will help oversee the committee’s work in conducting hearings and discussions about issues that affect Pennsylvania residents and collaborate with the house Republican Caucus to develop policies to address those issues.
Walsh wrote in a news release that he’s eager to begin work this legislative session, including in his new capacity as a Judiciary Committee member.
“Through my more than 20 years of general practice experience, I have seen legal issues from all sides,” Walsh wrote. “I believe this will allow me to better weigh legislation that comes through this committee.”
Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Cecil, wrote in a news release that he was pleased to be assigned to the Appropriations, Education, Environmental Resources and Energy, and Gaming Oversight committees.
“Legislation that passes through these standing committees plays a key role in my district, as Washington County is home to the Meadows Casino and Marcellus Shale drilling,” he wrote.
Freshman Rep. Mike Puskaric, R-Elizabeth Township, was appointed to serve on four House standing committees: Commerce, Education, Insurance, and Labor and Industry.
“These assignments are excellent opportunities for me to contribute to important matters of public policy,” Puskaric wrote in a news release. “Before any bill comes to the House floor, it must be reviewed and refined at the committee level. This is where the real legwork is done in the legislative process.”
Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Upper St. Clair, another freshman member, was appointed to five House committees: Judiciary, Children and Youth, Human Services, Liquor Control, and Veteran Affairs and Emergency Preparedness.
An attorney who served in the Allegheny County Office of the District Attorney, Mihalek wrote in a news release that she is particularly excited to be appointed to the Judiciary Committee. As an attorney, she also worked with Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens: children, the elderly, the poor and those with physical and intellectual disabilities. Now, she’ll advocate for this population with the Children and Youth and Human Services committees.
“Together with local police, I fought for justice, prosecuting criminal cases and putting violent offenders behind bars,” she wrote. “I plan to use my experience to strengthen our laws and improve our communities.”