HARRISBURG \u2014 The head of Pennsylvania\u2019s Treasury Department said her agency does not have the legal authority to pay the more than $1 million in recent security upgrades at Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s privately-owned family home in Montgomery County, saying state rules bar her from using taxpayer dollars to settle those bills.<\/p>\n
Treasurer Stacy Garrity \u2014 a Republican who will likely be Shapiro\u2019s opponent in the fall general election \u2014 told reporters Thursday that state procurement rules do not permit public money to be used for construction work on a non-state-owned property like Shapiro\u2019s house. That work \u2014 carried out last year following an attack at the state-owned governor\u2019s mansion in Harrisburg<\/a> \u2014 included a new security system, and landscaping and other maintenance work on the home\u2019s exterior grounds.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the course of nearly four months, we conducted an exhaustive review to be absolutely certain that every aspect was considered and no detail was overlooked,\u201d said Garrity, an independently elected row officer whose office oversees payments of state revenue to employees, contractors, and others.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is clear,\u201d she said, \u201cthat there is no legal authorization that allows for the use of taxpayer money for upgrades or improvement to the governor\u2019s personal home.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrity said that while the attack on Shapiro was \u201cshocking and deeply troubling\u201d \u2014 and that “everyone deserves to feel protected\u201d \u2014 the administration\u2019s ask for public dollars to cover the upgrades was unprecedented, and does not adhere to the state\u2019s \u201cfiscal and purchasing requirements that are in place to protect taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrity\u2019s decision involves an emotionally charged issue: the safety of the governor and his family in times of rising anti-semitism and political violence. Shapiro is Jewish, and the man who attacked the residence last year had expressed anger at the governor over the ongoing war in Gaza. (As a governor, Shapiro has no decision-making power involving overseas wars.)<\/p>\n And it comes at an uncomfortable moment politically, as Garrity is running for governor. She hopes to snag the GOP nomination in next month\u2019s primary election and then challenge Shapiro in November.<\/p>\n In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky called Garrity\u2019s decision \u201ca completely unprecedented and shameful political action without legal basis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Treasurer should put partisanship aside, follow the law, and show some humanity for a family that has experienced real trauma, the state troopers who protect them every day, and the vendors and workers who the treasurer has now refused to pay,\u201d Lapowsky wrote.<\/p>\n Garrity rebuffed any suggestion that she is motivated by politics: \u201cI don\u2019t play these kind of political games. We call balls and strikes here at Treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro does have options to resolve the matter. His administration can seek an out-of-court settlement for payment of the outstanding bills through the Office of Attorney General. Additionally, state lawmakers could authorize the spending as part of their annual budget approval process.<\/p>\n Both options would provide the state Treasury the legal authorization it needs to cut a check for the work, Treasury officials said.<\/p>\n Nicole Reigelman, a spokesperson for Democrats who control the state House, would say only that \u201cthe assassination attempt on our governor demands that we take all necessary steps to protect him and future governors and their families.\u201d She did not elaborate.<\/p>\n However, it remains unclear whether Republicans who hold the majority in the state Senate would approve the spending. Senate Republican spokesperson Kate Flessner said her caucus had just learned about the decision, and \u201cwill be evaluating the matter and determine what if any actions need to be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R., Lehigh) has raised concerns<\/a> for months about the spending, and through the committee he chairs, subpoenaed records involving the work at Shapiro\u2019s private house.<\/p>\n In a statement Thursday, Coleman said he plans to introduce \u201ca legislative solution\u201d to the matter within two weeks, but did not provide details.<\/p>\n Spotlight PA first revealed the billing dispute in February<\/a>, based on records the news organization had obtained. At the time, a State Police spokesperson defended the spending and told Spotlight PA that while the state-owned residence was being restored, the Shapiros had to live at their personal home on a full-time basis \u2014 a move that required \u201cserious security enhancements\u201d to the governor\u2019s private house.<\/p>\n The upgrades to Shapiro\u2019s Abington property were recommended by State Police officials after the middle-of-the-night arson attack and attempted murder last year at the state-owned governor\u2019s mansion in Harrisburg, where Shapiro and his family stay when in the capital. The Democratic governor and his family and friends were asleep inside, having just finished celebrating Passover the evening before, when a man broke in and set several rooms on fire.<\/p>\n Though no one was injured, the man who carried out the attack \u2014 Cody Balmer of Harrisburg \u2014 told law enforcement that had he encountered the governor during the break-in, he would have beaten him with a hammer. Balmer pleaded guilty<\/a> to attempted murder and other charges.<\/p>\n Shapiro has spoken openly about the emotional toll<\/a> the attack has taken on him and his family. But he has also stressed that it will not deter him from remaining in public office.<\/p>\n The attack set off a top-to-bottom reassessment of security protocols in place for the first family. State Police hired an outside contractor<\/a> who recommended changes to protections for the governor, who is guarded by a special State Police unit. The contractor\u2019s report was never made public<\/a>, but soon after, the state launched extensive security upgrades and repairs at the governor\u2019s mansion.<\/p>\n State Police also quietly authorized upgrades to Shapiro\u2019s personal home. Those upgrades, which began over the summer, were only publicly disclosed<\/a> by State Police for the first time in a letter to top lawmakers late last year.<\/p>\n A State Police spokesperson has said the upgrades were necessary to protect the governor and his family. In the months following the attack, the Shapiros had to vacate the state-owned property and live in their Montgomery County home, which required major updates to provide adequate security, according to the spokesperson.<\/p>\n Spotlight PA found that the security upgrades at the governor\u2019s family home were carried out under the emergency construction provisions in the state\u2019s procurement code<\/a>, which lays out the process and (often complicated) steps state agencies must follow to purchase goods and services and execute construction projects.<\/p>\n