Opinion ID: 1945434
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Legislative Standing of State Legislators

Text: Turning to the state legislators' Petition for Review, we begin with Claim I, which alleges that the General Assembly has the sole and exclusive authority to grant a license for use of the submerged lands at issue, and therefore the City acted without legal authority in issuing HSP the submerged lands license. [7] The state legislators allege that the General Assembly repealed the City of Philadelphia's statutory authority to license submerged lands and that, accordingly, only the General Assembly now holds the licensing authority. Thus, they argue that [b]y granting a license to occupy Commonwealth lands, the Commerce Director of the City of Philadelphia usurped the [appellants'] legislative authority to convey those lands and deprived them of the ability to exercise their constitutional mandate to make basic policy decisions about Commonwealth lands held in trust for the public. State Legislators' Brief in Opposition to Application for Summary Relief of HSP Gaming L.P. at 5-6. We conclude that the state legislators have legislative standing to pursue Claim I. The state legislators seek redress for an alleged usurpation of their authority as members of the General Assembly; aim to vindicate a power that only the General Assembly allegedly has; and ask that this Court uphold their right as legislators to cast a vote or otherwise make a decision on licensing the use of the Commonwealth's submerged lands. Thus, the claim reflects the state legislators' interest in maintaining the effectiveness of their legislative authority and their vote, and for this reason, falls within the realm of the type of claim that legislators, qua legislators, have standing to pursue. The same cannot be said, however, of Claim II, which alleges that the Commerce Director's decision was inconsistent with the licensing authority Act 321 provides because HSP intends to construct a portion of its casino upon submerged lands and HSP should have been required to present evidence of deed or title. In this claim, the state legislators allege only that the City did not act properly in exercising its statutory authority to license. The claim reflects nothing more than the state legislators' disagreement with the way in which the Commerce Director interpreted and executed her duties on behalf of the City. The claim does not demonstrate any interference with or diminution in the state legislators' authority as members of the General Assembly. As such, Claim II is only a generalized grievance about the conduct of government that all citizens share. Thus, we conclude that the state legislators lack standing to pursue Claim II.