Very Parliamentary, a little funkadelic

IF YOU'RE ever in the state House chamber or watch proceedings on PCN, you may notice a guy always standing on the dais beside the speaker. That guy's Clancy Myer. He's House parliamentarian, for like 30 years, basically the referee for fights over rules and procedure in the oft-contentious and partisan 203-member legislative body.

Myer's rulings can determine what becomes Pennsylvania law and what doesn't. And he's about to start working at high-alert status as lawmakers rush to meet yet another June 30 state budget deadline. He also umpires legislative "all star" softball games.

Born and raised in Akron Borough, Lancaster County, Myer graduated from Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law, and the Judge Advocate General (JAG) School at the University of Virginia. He served four years as an Army JAG Corps lawyer, mostly at Fort Dix, N.J., and briefly at West Point during the academy's 1976 cheating scandal.

He came to his current job with no political background or parliamentary experience after answering an ad in his law school's bulletin and getting hired by then-Speaker K. Leroy Irvis in 1978. He's been parliamentarian almost continuously since then, under speakers of both parties, with one short interlude as legal counsel to the Democratic caucus (1979-82) and another as House counsel (2007-10).

Myer is 66, married, lives in the Harrisburg suburbs, has a fondness for cars, and is into gardening and karaoke. He chatted at the Capitol recently with columnist John Baer.

Q First, and no offense, but isn't your job sorta dull and nerdy? And what does a parliamentarian do for fun?

Well, I'm not sure it's something you'd call fun, but to get some of the tension out I, like to dig in the dirt. I'm an avid gardener. It's very therapeutic. I drive a red '91 BMW convertible when the weather's good. And I like to go out and have fun. I'm a big karaoke fan.

Q Oh? Got a go-to song?

Roy Orbison's "Crying." And, after listening to me struggling to hit all the high notes, everyone in the audience is crying by the time I'm finished.

Q OK, seriously, dude, what's a parliamentarian do?

Advise the speaker on all procedural and legal issues during or before House sessions, and when they're not in session, read all amendments to see if any are out of order.

Q Ugh and zzzz. So we're talking about reading thousands of allegedly good ideas from hundreds of lawmakers looking to make changes to thousands of bills that may or may not become law?

It's the big pain of the job.

Q Well, one thing that must not be a pain is your salary. I found a 1931 law creating the post of parliamentarian and setting salary at $3,000. But I also found your salary is $185,000-plus, way above members' pay and $52,000 more than the speaker's pay. Do you take grief for that? Does Speaker Mike Turzai ever rib you about making more than he does?

Well, I've been here longer than anybody else. And, no, the speaker never has.

Q What's the biggest on-the-floor controversy you've dealt with?

It was in 1995, after a Democratic representative [Tom Stish, Luzerne County] switched parties to give House control to Republicans. On swearing-in day, which normally takes about an hour, we spent maybe five hours fighting over whether his election results were officially certified and whether they had to be for him to be recognized.

There were myriad points of order and inquiries. Then-Democratic Leader [now ex-con] Bill DeWeese was very vehement in his opposition to my rulings [which upheld GOP positions]. It was not a very pleasant day.

Q What guides do you use in determining protocol?

House rules, precedent, Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure, Jefferson's Manual.

Q And do any of those offer tricks someone could use to spring on the leadership at a PTA meeting or community civic association to make a point or get their way?

Not that I know of. If there were, I would have used it when we were trying to pass the 2015-16 budget.

Q What's the oddest thing you've ever seen from the dais?

Bill Rieger [a late Democratic Philly House member, 1967 to 2006] was known for not showing up on Mondays. One Monday, then-GOP Leader Matt Ryan was looking at vote tallies showing Rieger voting, but when he looked at the back of the chamber where Rieger sat, no one was there. So Ryan asks the speaker if Mr. Rieger was on the floor of the House. [Turns out he was, literally.]

At that point, Rieger jumps out from under his desk and starts doing jumping-jack motions yelling, "I'm here, Matt! I'm here!"