HARRISBURG — A GOP-led Pennsylvania Senate committee is moving to subpoena the Shapiro administration for records related to the $1 million in taxpayer-funded security upgrades underway at the Democratic governor’s personal home in the Philadelphia suburbs.
The subpoenas, drafted by the state Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee and obtained by Spotlight PA, seek documents from the Pennsylvania State Police describing construction, landscaping, new equipment, and other security-related work at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private, family home. They also seek texts, emails, and other communications that provide details on how decisions were made about what upgrades to pursue.
The changes, administration officials have said, were recommended by the State Police after a brazen arson attack earlier this year at a different location: the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg, which is owned by the state and maintained by taxpayers. Shapiro and his family were asleep inside, having just celebrated Passover with friends.
The security upgrade work at Shapiro’s private home in Montgomery County began this summer, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Spotlight PA — weeks before the governor sought an official ethics opinion about the propriety of using taxpayer money to pay for the upgrades, which include landscaping and electrical and gas work.
Committee Chair Jarrett Coleman (R., Lehigh) sent a letter late last month to the head of the State Police seeking details on the improvements at Shapiro’s private home. He scheduled a committee meeting to consider issuing the subpoenas after he said he didn’t receive the full breadth of information he requested.
But at the eleventh hour on Wednesday, Coleman decided to give the administration a two-week extension before convening again for a vote on the subpoenas, which would also be sent to Abington Township, where the governor’s private home is located.
“This extension will give them until the Senate returns to session in December,” the senator said in a statement. “The agencies are aware of what the committee is seeking and should be forthright in providing the information as requested prior to our return.”
The subpoenas mark an escalation in tensions between Coleman’s office and the administration over information on the use of taxpayer dollars. The Republican senator previously questioned Shapiro’s use of the State Police’s aircraft at taxpayer expense, and intends to send a separate subpoena to the law enforcement agency for records related to that.
Legislative subpoenas on executive agencies are rare, and, when they are issued, often lead to litigation.
In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky called the subpoenas “another partisan stunt by Sen. Coleman.”
“Instead of working in good faith, Sen. Coleman is issuing demands through the press and attacking the Pennsylvania State Police for taking important steps to keep the Governor and his family safe," she wrote.
Following the arson attack, State Police officials, in consultation with an outside expert, conducted a security review of the governor’s private residence and recommended a number of improvements.
Before carrying out any of those changes, Shapiro’s office told Spotlight PA that the administration consulted the State Ethics Commission to ensure there was “no improper private, pecuniary gain from these security improvements.”
The governor himself authored the letter, dated Sept. 25 of this year. In it, Shapiro requested a confidential advisory opinion about unspecified security upgrades to his personal home.
“I will not describe in detail the type of security measures being recommended, since knowledge of the protections in place would itself aid those so inclined to seek to overcome them,” the governor wrote.
“However,” he continued, “for purposes of this inquiry, it is important to note that the recommended security measures include modifications that will become fixtures to the real property. Those fixtures will be impractical and expensive to remove. Further, the risk of danger to my family and to me will not cease upon the expiration of my term as governor.”
Shapiro added: “Please give this request and the resulting opinion confidential treatment and make any deletions, redactions, or changes necessary to protect my and my family’s identity and ensure that my name, position, and other information that may reveal my or my family’s identity be protected from public disclosure.”
The commission issued an opinion on Oct. 10, stating that the unspecified security upgrades did not constitute a personal benefit, given the governor’s position in state government and the circumstances that necessitated the work. Because Shapiro requested a confidential opinion, it is written in a coded way so that the public cannot understand who is asking for it or even what issue they are asking about.
Two sources with knowledge of the upgrades at Shapiro’s private home told Spotlight PA that some of the work began in late summer — more than a month before the governor requested the advisory opinion.
Pressed to address the timing of the upgrades, Lapowsky said: “We don’t respond to anonymous sources.”
Asked whether the administration denied that work had begun before the ethics opinion, she did not respond.
That work includes tree trimming, the installation of a generator, electrical and gas work, and landscaping changes, including placing boulders around the home, the sources said. Through a public records request, Spotlight PA has asked for all contracts and invoices related to the upgrades.
The Shapiros also requested a variance from the zoning board in Abington for fencing around their property, and meeting minutes show that request was taken up at the board’s meeting in July.
Since the arson — which the governor has said took a deeply emotional toll on him and his family — the state has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on restoring the official state residence in Harrisburg where the attack occurred.
In all, the administration has disclosed safety upgrades totalling $32.3 million at the official residence, including $8 million to retrofit the mansion with new windows that are bullet- and shatterproof.
Additionally, the administration has spent more than $6 million in public dollars to fix extensive fire-related damage inside the stately Harrisburg residence. Some of those expenses will be covered by the state’s insurance plans.
Despite using taxpayer money, state officials have shielded information about what nearly a quarter of those expenses were spent on.
Administration officials have said those expenses encompass security changes, and that revealing details about them would endanger Shapiro’s safety.
There has also been secrecy surrounding private money donated to a fund managed by Team PA, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit, to help restore the mansion.
For months, neither Team PA nor the administration would disclose the donors’ identities or the amount contributed, despite repeated requests by Spotlight PA. They also have not provided a general description of what that money has or will be used for.
That changed on Wednesday, at least in part.
A Team PA spokesperson shared an image of what appears to be a plaque thanking “The Generous Sponsors of The Governor’s Residence Rebuild 2025.”
The image lists the names of 23 donors, including individuals, private foundations, and corporations, like Amazon and Deloitte, as well as others in the energy, banking, and insurance fields.
Still unknown: how much each donor gave, exactly how the money was used, and whether the list is exhaustive.
The Team PA spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions seeking more information.