Biography
Kate M. Harper has represented the 61st Legislative District since 2000. She has focused her legislative efforts on dealing with the effects of urban sprawl, managing traffic congestion and protecting open space, especially environmentally sensitive areas and farms. 

A member of Montgomery County’s first Open Space Task Force in 1993, Kate chaired the Montgomery County Green Fields Green Towns Task Force in 2003. The task force designed and implemented a plan to raise $150 million to preserve farmland, buy open space, create new parks and trails, re-green towns and boroughs, and revitalize urban parks in the county. On the state level, Governor Ed Rendell appointed Kate to both the State and Delaware Regional Water Committees, which are tasked with creating a statewide water resources plan for the Commonwealth.

In 2008, Kate was named recipient of the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society’s Governmental Award for her support of parks and recreation funding, as well as open space preservation and conservation. In 2006, she was named Citizen of the Year by Lower Gwynedd Township for her sustained commitment to conservation and open space. She was also named Legislator of the Year by the Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter of Community Associations Institute (CAI) for her efforts to oppose legislation that would have had a detrimental effect on community associations and consumers alike. In 2005, Kate received the Distinguished Service Award from the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association for her work to promote sound management of the Commonwealth’s environmental infrastructure. Her work in helping to preserve Pennsylvania’s natural resources earned her the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s Land Use Award for 2004 and the Heritage Conservancy’s Conservation Award in 2003. In that same year, Kate was recognized by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association for her steadfast commitment to land conservation and her leadership role with the Environmental Stewardship Fund. She helped secure the dedicated funding needed to sustain the fund, which is also called “Growing Greener.” 

Kate was also the prime architect of Growing Greener II, the legislative response to the Governor’s call for increased environmental spending. Following a successful voter initiative that approved borrowing in the amount of $625 million for environmental projects, Kate helped write the law that provided for debt service to be paid for through an existing tax on landfills without new taxes.  

Kate is chairman of the House Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Public Transportation and vice chairman of the House Ethics Committee. She also serves on the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee and the Judiciary Committee and was appointed to the state Environmental Hearing Board Rules Committee. Kate serves on the committee that oversees the Legislative Office of Research Liaison, a nonpartisan research arm of the legislature, and as a member of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Additionally, she is a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, which ensures access to legal services for low-income individuals.Locally, Kate serves as a board member of the Wissahickon Educational Opportunities Foundation and the Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary School.

Prior to joining the General Assembly, she was a community leader and township supervisor for more than a decade. In 1986, Kate was appointed to the Lower Gwynedd Township Planning Commission. She served as Chair of theLower Gwynedd Township Board of Supervisors for several years and is a former President of the Montgomery County Township Officials Association. She received the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors’ Leadership Award during her tenure as the organization’s resolutions Chair. 

Kate received the 2001 Governor’s Individual Award for Excellence in Local Government for her distinguished record of public service in Montgomery County. She was also named as the legislative “Rookie of the Year” during her first term by the Pennsylvania Report, a nonpartisan political newsletter. PoliticsPA.com, a Web site that covers Pennsylvania politics, identified her as one the “Ten Smartest Legislators” in Harrisburg. The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce also has honored her with the Athena Award. 

She is also a former Vice-Chair of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, and as a former Chair of the Montgomery County Open Space Planning Board she helped to create Montgomery County’s Open Space Plan. Kate currently chairs the Montgomery County Lands Trust, a non-profit conservancy.

Kate earned her undergraduate degree from LaSalle University and a law degree from Villanova University. She has practiced law for more than 20 years. 

As a lawyer with the Fort Washington-based firm Timoney Knox LLP, Kate represents individuals, families, entrepreneurs and municipal agencies. She is one of only a handful of Montgomery County lawyers to have argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Kate and her husband, Paul J. Kelly, CPA, reside in Lower Gwynedd Township and have two sons, Paul and Tom.  

The 61st District includes portions of Plymouth Township, Whitpain Township, Lower Gwynedd Township, Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery Township, Towamencin Township, and North Wales Borough.