House Government Oversight Committee to Investigate State Gun Purchases

April 17, 2020

HARRISBURG – The House Government Oversight Committee will investigate the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) erroneous purchase of pistols, ammunition and other equipment, which cost taxpayers $160,000, and are sitting in storage unused, Rep. Seth Grove (R-Dover), chair of the House Government Oversight Committee, announced.

“This purchase is a just a microcosm of the misspending of taxpayer dollars. I believe this investigation will allow us to uncover not only what happened but will provide lessons to hold the government accountable for other wasteful uses of money,” Grove said. “I look forward to delving deeper into the issue through this investigation.”

In 2017, the OIG, was given arrest and investigation power like other law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth. The agency then submitted a bid in January 2018 for the pistols and other materials and awarded the contract in April 2018. At some point, the OIG received notification its employees are not allowed to carry handguns, after the government signed off on all necessary documents to make the purchases. The guns are now sitting unused in a secure location.

The House Government Oversight Committee will focus on two aspects of the transaction. The first of which is the contract to purchase the pistols and other materials was never publicly posted. Secondly, it will also look into how the transaction happened before the agency learned its employees were not permitted to carry firearms.

“The lack of transparency and communication appears to be a large part of what caused this problem to happen,” Grove said. “The committee’s investigation will flesh out the details and get to the root of the problem.”

The committee will release its report in the coming months. The nine-member committee is tasked with investigating matters regarding state government and agencies referred by the speaker, majority leader or minority leader.

Representative Seth Grove
196th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com
RepGrove.com / Facebook.com/RepSethGrove