HARRISBURG – Sen. Dawn Keefer (R-31) has been appointed six Senate standing committees, including the Senate Local Government Committee which she will chair during the 2025-26 legislative session. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39) recently announced committee assignments for the Senate Republican Caucus.
“I am excited to start with the work of reviewing the issues that come before these committees, many of which are very familiar to me as I dealt with similar or the same matters during my four terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives,” said Keefer.
She will be vice chair of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, which is responsible for reviewing legislation and resolutions related to a number of subjects pertaining to housing and community revitalization, as well as overseeing the operations of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
Keefer will also be a member of the following committees:
- Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, which protects the health and safety of the public by focusing primarily on issues related to consumer affairs, regulated public utility services and dozens of professional and occupational licensing boards, state boards, authorities and commissions in Pennsylvania.
- Education, which is focused on Pennsylvania’s education system, including school safety, funding issues and post-secondary opportunities for students, with oversight of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and other state boards and commissions pertaining to education.
- Law and Justice, which is primarily responsible for reviewing legislation, regulations and policies pertaining to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and the Pennsylvania State Police.
- Intergovernmental Operations, which reviews proposals to restructure and streamline state government.
Last week, Ward appointed Keefer as chair of the Senate Local Government Committee, which is responsible for reviewing issues, legislation and policy that affect Pennsylvania’s more than 2,500 county and municipal government entities. The committee also has oversight of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System and the Pennsylvania Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff’s Education and Training Board.
“As I move forward during my first term as senator and serve on these committees, my actions and decisions will always be grounded in my bedrock principles of limiting government and empowering individuals and businesses,” Keefer said. “I will continue to be a backstop against government expansion and curbing personal freedoms.”
Contact: Jessica Wood 717-787-8524