PA Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure — 2026-10-06

I now call to order the meeting of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee to hold a nomination hearing. Jen, will you please call the roll to establish a quorum?

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Sure, it's my pleasure. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's my pleasure to introduce one of my constituents, Commissioner Katie Zerfus, who has been nominated to serve an additional term on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Katie is a resident of Mechanicsburg in the 31st Senatorial District and has devoted over 20 years to public service in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Throughout her career, she has served in several leadership roles across government, including the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, several executive agencies, Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs in Governor Tom Wolfe's administration, and most recently, a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. In those positions, she worked closely with members of the General Assembly, executive agencies, and stakeholders to address complex policy issues and navigate legislative priorities. Her experience spans a broad range of public policy areas, including education, tax policy, economic development, government operations, and workforce development, which has become a hallmark of her tenure on the commission. Commissioner Zerfus' depth of experience, broad range of knowledge of state government, and commitment to public service have and will continue to serve her well on the commission. I ask members for their affirmative vote. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you.

It says bright green went on, right? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Madam Chair, and members of the committee. I very much appreciate the opportunity to be here with you today as you consider my nomination for serving as commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for a second term I very much appreciate the extra special touch of the introduction by my home senator Senator Don Kiefer. Happy birthday. You know, it especially means a lot considering my family is in the audience and we're all residents of 31st Senatorial District. I have submitted testimony for the record. I will spare you all and not read my testimony, but I'm happy to answer questions if you have any from that testimony, whether it's in this hearing or offline. But while I have the opportunity to make remarks, I would like to offer some notes of thanks, gratitude, and appreciation to some folks. And I'd like to start with all of you, to the committee, to the chairs, and to your Senate colleagues for the discussions that we have had through this confirmation process. but not just that but the conversations that we have had over the course of the almost four years that I've been at the commission. It's so important to me to make sure that I'm building relationships and to understand what's important to you, what's important to your constituents who are our taxpayers and our rate payers. So what's important to you, what's important to them is also very important to me. I would like to, of course, thank Governor Josh Shapiro for the honor of this nomination, because without that nomination, I wouldn't be sitting here at all, whether it's today or any other day. I appreciate the fact that he's trusting in me to serve another term at the commission, and I very much appreciate that. I would like to thank the staff of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for being just amazing public servants and for supporting the work that we do every day, and to my colleagues. And it's, I believe, Chairman Steve DeFrank is here with me. I know he was in the Capitol testifying on the other side of the Capitol in a House hearing, and I very much appreciate the fact that he made time to come over here and to support me. You know, I think there are some extra notes of gratitude and appreciation that go out to the various folks in the room and outside the room. You know, they're here in spirit, maybe not physically. You know, the past four years, there's been a little bit of a learning curve going from like a legislative policy position to one of a regulator. So I thank the folks who have, you know, given time out of their schedules to answer questions for me so I can lean into some expertise. So they have given me tours and have taken a lot of time to make sure that I have what I need so I can be successful in my position, but also to better help the folks back home. So a lot of appreciation goes out to those folks too. And of course, you know, most importantly, my family, who's here with me, you can see these really nicely dressed people here behind me, they clean up pretty nicely. But my with me today, I have my husband, Andy, my mother, Nancy, and my children, Sydney, Ethan and Thea. And they were more than happy to miss a day of school to come to the Capitol today, especially because there's a milkshake truck outside to celebrate the fountain and breast cancer awareness. But my family they mean everything to me I love them dearly And you know I take my public service very seriously And they too see the value in public service because they graciously deal with the travel schedule, the interruptions, you know, to our routine work calls, mainly from Chairman Steve DeFrank. And, you know, all the things that go along with the public service, they believe in it, they believe in me, they support me, they love me unconditionally. And I am very happy that they're here with me. So I appreciate the ability to make these extra remarks. Thank you, and I'm more than happy to answer questions. Thank you very much. I also want to recognize Senator Culver

good morning, and I am pleased to support Catherine Zerfus's nomination for reappointment to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. Katie, you bring more than two decades of public service experience and a strong commitment to the people who depend on safe, reliable, and affordable utility service. The commission has a lot of critical work ahead of you. I know that. And protecting rate payers, strengthening grid reliability, ensuring the safety of utility infrastructure and rail crossings, and addressing growing demands on our energy system. Katie's experience and focus will serve Pennsylvania well as we meet these challenges ahead of us. Commissioner Zarfas, thank you for your service and your willingness to serve another term on the commission with DeFrank behind you. Good luck with that. And I trust the governor's faith in you to meet these important moments before us. Congratulations. Any other questions? Senator Phillips Hill. Thank you, Chairman

It's very good to see you again. And I want to thank you for always being a resource and for being available to our office as we work through challenging energy issues that impact the citizens of Southern York County. Right now, before the Public Utility Commission, there is an effort that has the potential to destroy Pennsylvania's robust consumer choice market. And as you well know, more than three decades ago, the Commonwealth opened competitive energy markets to allow families the option to purchase electricity and natural gas from retail suppliers or remain with their existing utility. And that flexibility has empowered consumers to be able to shop for the best rates, for their homes, for their businesses, schools, hospitals, you name it. And in my district, I have that unique vantage point into Maryland, which implemented policies that effectively shut down their retail energy markets altogether. Markets that have allowed my constituents and people across our Commonwealth the ability to shop for the best rate that fits their budget they shut those down and so we don have to look that far to see that when competition disappears it the people that ultimately lose We don want to see that happen in Pennsylvania So I would respectfully ask that you and the commission, noting that Chairman DeFrank is here today as well, please do not take any action that would jeopardize our competitive energy markets. And thank you again, Commissioner. And thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Just a real quick question for you. Now that you're facing headlong into your second term, how do you feel compared to starting your first term?

Well, thank you for those comments, and it's been wonderful to watch you as you've grown through and adjusted to your role. So, seeing no other questions, may I have a motion then to favorably recommend to the Senate confirmation of Ms. Catherine Zerfus as Commissioner for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Are there any negative votes? Hearing none, then I report Ms. Zerfus' favorable recommendation from the committee. Before I, well, first I'll say it will now be referred to the Committee on Rules and executive nominations. But before we close, I wanted to call upon Senator Ferry.

Thank you, Senator and Commissioner Zerfus. Congratulations.

Now I recess the Consumer Protection Professional License Committee to the call of the chair.