Pennsylvania House Democrats take step toward expelling state Rep. Kevin Boyle

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A top House Democratic leader took a first step toward expelling State Rep. Kevin Boyle from the state House, as the lawmaker faces criminal charges and his family says he’s experiencing a serious mental health condition.

House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D- Montgomery, in response to Boyle’s situation, on Thursday introduced a resolution to create a new process for expulsion based on a member’s incapacity to fulfill their duties.

The action comes less than a week before the primary election and is an extraordinary step because removing Boyle, a Democrat, would temporarily eliminate his party’s narrow majority in the House.

Philadelphia police issued a warrant for Boyle’s arrest on Tuesday for allegedly violating a protection from abuse order. As of Thursday afternoon, Boyle had not turned himself in. No matter the future House action or any legal challenges, Boyle will remain on Tuesday’s primary ballot. He is facing a Democratic primary challenger, Sean Dougherty, who has the backing of party leaders.

Bradford’s resolution would change House operating rules to create a new expulsion process by forming a five-person subcommittee of top legislative leaders from both parties to investigate whether a member is unable to fulfill duties as a state representative.

The subcommittee would decide whether the member suffers a temporary or permanent impairment — whether physical or mental — that makes them “unable to discharge the duties of office,” according to the resolution. The committee would also consider substance abuse or other cognitive impairments.

If Kevin Boyle is expelled, House Democrats would not have the 102 votes they need to pass bills along party lines. They could hold a special election 60 days after his expulsion to fill the seat. With such a narrow majority, Democrats have previously chosen not to meet during the two-month period of a vacancy, stopping up any legislative work for months. But this action comes as the June 30 state budget deadline is looming, and it was not immediately clear how House leaders would handle such a vacancy.

Boyle’s brother, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said Wednesday that family, friends and colleagues “have done everything possible to get him to enter into treatment, but we have been frustrated by a system that gives little power to the loved ones of an adult with a serious mental health condition.”

Bradford, who is one of Kevin Boyle’s close friends, shared similar sentiments about his concerns for Kevin Boyle’s mental health.

“It breaks my heart to see him this way,” Bradford told The Philadelphia Inquirer last week.

The state House last expelled a member in 1975 after he was convicted for mail fraud, and only 15 members have been expelled from the House since its formation in 1683, WGAL reported.

Boyle lost his state Capitol security access in February following an outburst at a Montgomery County bar, and his office has been open by appointment only.

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