Select and Special Committees and Task Forces are created to address specific legislative concerns that require more attention than a busy Standing Committee can spare. These small and temporary committees, created by a House Resolution, are charged with studying a problem and writing a report that proposes recommendations, and often, legislation to solve the problem.

These committees often perform a great deal of research, hold public hearings and receive input from the citizens of the Commonwealth in order to help them make recommendations. The resulting collections are often a “well rounded” view of issues that were cause for concern in Pennsylvania.

The types of issues addressed evolve and change along with Pennsylvania’s culture, economy and environment. Below are listed the Special/Select Committees and Task Force Records available through the House Archives.

1959-1960

• Select Committee regarding Act 1605 of 1956 pursuant to House Resolution 132

1973-1974

• Select Committee to Investigate the Administration of Justice pursuant to House Resolution 21
• Select Committee on Federal-State Affairs pursuant to House Resolution 46 (located in Select  and Special Reports, 1973-1974)
• Select Committee to Investigate State Contracts pursuant to House Resolution 98
• Bipartisan Committee to Study Situations and Circumstances of Victims of Rape pursuant to House Resolution 207
• Select Committee Investigating Licensed and Unlicensed Homes for the Elderly, Indigent and Sickly pursuant to Senate Resolution 57 (located in Select and Special Reports, 1973-1974)

1977-1978

• Select Committee on Operations of the House pursuant to House Resolution 122
• Speaker’s Select Committee on the Johnstown Flood pursuant to House Resolution 136

1979-1980

• Select Committee to Investigate the Three Mile Island (TMI) Incident pursuant to House Resolution 48
• Select Committee to Investigate South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) pursuant to House Resolution 118

1983-1984

• Special Committee to Investigate Food and Cheese Distribution pursuant to House Resolutions 56 and 130
• Select Committee on Safe Drinking Water pursuant to House Resolution 87
• Select Committee on Seasonal Farm Laborers pursuant to House Resolution 138
• Task Force to Study Export Trade pursuant to House Resolution 150
• Select Committee to Study Avian Flu pursuant to House Resolution 169
• Special Bipartisan Committee to Study the Impact on Pennsylvania Consumers of the Divesture of AT&T pursuant to House Resolution 190
• Select Committee to Investigate the Department of Aging Directive #83-12 pursuant to House Resolution 194
• Select Committee on Minority and Women-Owned Businesses pursuant to House Resolution 227
• Special Bipartisan Committee to Investigate Home Equity conversions and Reversible Mortgages pursuant to House Resolution 231
• Special Investigative Lottery Fund Task Force pursuant to House Resolution 238
• Select Committee to Investigate Landfills pursuant to House Resolution 246
• Special Bipartisan Committee to Study the Problems of the Chronic Homeless pursuant to House Resolution 249
• Special Bipartisan Committee to Investigate Industrial Plant Closings pursuant to House Resolution 252
• Select Committee to Investigate Limerick II pursuant to House Resolution 257
• Special Committee to Review the Bureau of Aviation pursuant to House Resolution 259

1985-1986

• Select Committee to Investigate Bidding Requirements for Certain PennDOT Contracts pursuant to House Resolution 8
• Select Committee to Investigate Compliance with Steel Products Procurement Act pursuant to House Resolution 17
• Special Commission on Boxing pursuant to House Resolution 36
• Select Committee on the Operational Aspects of the Emmaus Orphan House pursuant to House Resolution 49
• Special Committee to Investigate Solid Waste Disposal Problems pursuant to House Resolution 50
• Select Committee to Investigate the Tragedy of Teenage Suicide pursuant to House Resolution 73
• Special Committee to Investigate Automobile Theft and Chop Shops pursuant to House Resolution 121
• Special Committee to Study the Availability and Need for Services to Handicapped Persons 21 Years of Age or Older pursuant to House Resolution 123
• Select Committee to Investigate the Workers’ Compensation System pursuant to House Resolution 139
• Select Committee to Investigate the Circumstances relating to the Flooding of the Monongahela River Basin pursuant to House Resolution 192
• Select Committee to Investigate Non-Profit Organizations pursuant to House Resolution 201
• Select Committee on Pennsylvania State Police pursuant to House Resolution 207
• Select Committee on Long Term Care pursuant to House Resolution 237
• Select Committee to Investigate the Commonwealth’s Response to Medicaid Fraud pursuant to House Resolution 238
• Select Committee to Investigate the Causes and Consequences of Sinking Houses on Logan Street pursuant to House Resolution 279
• Select Committee to Investigate the Commonwealth’s Plan for Divesting Itself of State General Hospitals pursuant to House Resolution 286
• Select Committee to Investigate the Problem of Teenage Pregnancies in Pennsylvania pursuant to House Resolution 205
• Select Committee to Study the Feasibility of a Harrisburg Law School pursuant to House Resolution 313

1987-1988

• Select Committee to Study Business Activities of Non Profits pursuant to House Resolution 4
• Select Committee on Long Term Care pursuant to House Resolution 45
• Select Committee to Investigate Alcohol Abuse in Pennsylvania Institutions of Higher Education pursuant to House Resolution 86
• Select Committee to Study Autism in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pursuant to House Resolution 104

1989-1990

• Select Committee on Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services pursuant to House Resolution 229
• Select Committee to Investigate the Effect of the Divestiture of the State General Hospitals pursuant to House Resolution 289
• Select Committee on Land Use and Growth Management pursuant to House Resolution 319
• Select Committee to Study the Feasibility of a Harrisburg University pursuant to House Resolution 323

1991-1992

• Select Committee on Land Use and Growth Management pursuant to House Resolutions 20 and 183
• Select Committee on Industrial Development Corporations (IDC) pursuant to House Resolution 27
• Select Committee on Meeting the Needs of Older Drivers pursuant to House Resolutions 168 and 222
• Special Legislative Commission to Investigate Proposed Amendments to Title 22 of the Pennsylvania Code pursuant to House Resolution 293

1993-1994

• Select Committee on Rules Review pursuant to House Resolution 17
• Select Committee on Violence pursuant to House Resolution 192
• Select Committee to Review Non-Preferred Appropriations pursuant to House Resolution 349
• Task Force on Higher Education Funding pursuant to House Resolution 352

1995-1996

• Select Subcommittee on Education pursuant to House Resolution 37
• Select Committee on Higher Education pursuant to House Resolution 181
• Select Committee on Weather Related Problems pursuant to House Resolution 275
• Select Committee to Review Open-Heart Surgery pursuant to House Resolution 415

1997-1998

• Select Subcommittee to Investigate Child Abuse and the Adequacy of Child Protective Services pursuant to House Resolution 127
• Select Committee to Study Fifteen Community Colleges in Pennsylvania pursuant to House Resolution 128
• Legislative Commission to Study Restructuring Urban Schools in the Commonwealth pursuant to House Resolution 133
• Select Committee to Access the Adequacy of the Eminent Domain Code pursuant to House Resolution 180
• Task Force to Study Mental Retardation pursuant to House Resolution 187
• Select Committee to Investigate the Increasing Student Cost of Postsecondary Education pursuant to House Resolution 397
• Joint Task Force to Study Adoption

1999-2000

• Select Committee on Rules Review pursuant to House Resolution 11
• Select Committee for Veteran Cemetery Site Selection pursuant to House Resolution 30
• Task Force to Study Mental Retardation Service Systems in Pennsylvania pursuant to House Resolution 15
• Commission on Post Secondary Education for the 21st Century pursuant to House Resolution 169
• Select Subcommittee to Investigate School Violence in Philadelphia Schools pursuant to House Resolution 303
• Select Committee to Investigate the Rising Costs of Pharmaceutical Drugs pursuant to House Resolution 358
• Select Subcommittee of the Education Committee to Study the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment Tests (PSSA) pursuant to House Resolution 459
• Select Committee to Study the Operation of the Philadelphia International Airport pursuant toHouse Resolution 542

2001-2002

• Joint Election Reform pursuant to House Resolution 14
• Keystone Commission on Education for Employment in the 21st Century pursuant to House Resolution 16
• Select Committee on Public Education Funding pursuant to House Resolution 42
• Task Force to Study Commonwealth-Owned Lands pursuant to House Resolution 49

2003-2004

• Select Committee to Study and Investigate the Integration of Human Rights Standards in Pennsylvania’s Laws and Policies pursuant to House Resolution 144
• Select Committee to Consider Toll Roads pursuant to House Resolution 581

2005-2006

• Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee
• Commission on the Future of Transportation Entities pursuant to House Resolution 151
• Select Committee on Academic Freedom pursuant to House Resolution 177
• Select Committee on Information Security pursuant to House Resolution 351
• Select Committee to Investigate the Alleged Illegal Rebating Practices relating to the Sale of Cigarettes pursuant to House Resolution 537
• Select Committee on the Supply of the Flu Vaccine pursuant to House Resolution 562

2007-2008

• Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee
• Select Committee to Study the Development of Lodging on or Adjacent to State Park and State
• Forest Lands pursuant to House Resolution 164 (located in the Tourism and Recreational Development Committee Records, 2007-2008 Session)

*Note: The House Archives uses a collections management database (Archon). Some of the above collections are available to be searched and the remainder of the collections are being added as quickly as possible. If you are interested in collections NOT available in Archon, please contact the House Archives.