Days after hearing from witnesses, a panel of state lawmakers on Monday voted 5-1 to send a criminal referral to the state Office of the Attorney General as they investigate whether Schuylkill County Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr. should be impeached for sexual misconduct.

Halcovage is accused by four women who work at the courthouse of sexually harassing them since he took office in 2012. He has denied the accusations. The women in March 2021 filed a federal lawsuit against him.

The House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts provided no details about the criminal referral, only that it was based on what it has learned so far.

The subcommittee also voted to authorize Chairman Paul Schemel to issue subpoenas to continue to gather evidence in the case.

Halcovage’s attorney, Gerard J. Geiger, expects to issue a statement on behalf of his client.

The votes followed a hearing Thursday to gather testimony from witnesses. Halcovage was asked to testify, but on the advice of his attorney, did not.

Neither the testimony nor the witnesses’ names were made public.

The subcommittee votes followed a 20-minute executive session.

Voting to send a criminal referral to the Attorney General were state representatives Schemel, Joshua D. Kail, Andrew Lewis, David H. Rowe and Joseph C. Hohenstein.

State Rep. Michael Zabel cast the sole no vote.

Sending the referral was “not necessarily inappropriate, but premature,” he said.

The subcommittee members all voted in favor of issuing subpoenas to move the matter forward.

Hohenstein thanked the witnesses for their testimony.

“I cannot imagine how difficult this must have been for them to come out and tell us their stories,” he said.

“I appreciate the courage and the bravery that was exhibited by our witnesses last week.

“Everyone deserves a safe and professional workplace where they do not live in fear or are subjected to abuse and exploited by people in powerful positions,” Hohenstein said.

Impeachment of an elected official is extremely rare, used just twice in the state’s history, he said.

“Throughout our process, we have approached this work in a decidedly apolitical manner, with communication being open and transparent,” Hohenstein said.

“The Quaker founders of our Commonwealth practiced consensus in much of their decision making. Speaking as a modern day Quaker, the process our committee has followed has been a model of consensus, with all of us focused on that process, not on any specific result,” he said.

“Our deliberations took time, and will continue to take time. We have allowed for the truth to be heard, and it will be fully developed,” he said.

Schemel said he understands the people of Schuylkill County would like to see the matter resolved quickly.

But due to the federal suit, which also names the county, “that process has been longer than we would have normally wanted,” he said.

Schemel also referred to former Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s resignation as she faced impeachment.

Kane resigned in 2016 after being convicted of perjury, obstruction and other charges for leaking grand jury files.

At the time, a state House subcommittee considered impeachment, but decided her conviction would serve the same purpose.

“In previous impeachments there has been opportunity for individuals to remedy themselves,” Schemel said, referring to Kane.

“Eventually, (former) Attorney General Kane eventually resigned on her own.

“So there’s been opportunity as well to see the commissioner in question to do likewise, thereby solving the problem for the subcommittee. That has not occurred,” he said.

Schemel said there is “adequate evidence” to move forward with the investigation.

The impeachment process began in January, when the subcommittee voted unanimously to begin an investigation.

For Halcovage to be impeached, the House would have to vote to remove him from office, and a trial would then be held by the Senate.

The allegations surfaced in 2020, when an investigation by the county Human Resources Department determined Halcovage violated the sexual harassment, conduct and disciplinary action, and the physical and verbal abuse policies.

The matter was sent to the state Office of the Attorney General, which did not file charges.

The four women, identified only as Jane Does, filed their lawsuit in March 2021 in U.S. District Court, Scranton.

In addition to the accusations of sexual harassment, it also alleges some county officials failed to stop the harassment and subsequent retribution against the women, and helped try to cover it up.

Depositions are being held this week.