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Preview of the Legislative Session of the PA General Assembly
Tyler Burke, Associate, Milliron & Goodman Government Relations
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The 206th Session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly concluded on November 30, 2022. All bills that did not become law cease to exist and must be reintroduced in the 207th Legislative Session, which begins on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.
After an exciting election season, the following is a breakdown of what you can expect as we begin the next legislative session.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro won the race for Pennsylvania Governor against sitting state Senator Doug Mastriano. Governor-elect Shapiro will be joined by state Representative Austin Davis who will be taking the position of Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor. Shapiro and Davis will both be sworn in on January 17, 2023.
In the state House and state Senate, there will be at least fifty-four new state legislators in the 207th Legislative Session of the General Assembly. The new members of the General Assembly will be sworn in on January 3, 2023.
Of those fifty-four new state legislators:
• Six are new state Senators (5
Republican and 1 Democrat) • Forty-eight are new state
Representatives (23 Republican and 25 Democrat)
The breakdown of the 50-member state Senate will be 27 Republican, 22 Democrat with 1 open seat. The open seat is a result of Senator John Gordner’s retirement. The special election to fill Senator Gordner’s district is scheduled for January 31, 2023. The breakdown of the 203-member state House will be 99 Democrat to 101 Republican with 3 open seats due to the death of Rep. Tony DeLuca (D-Allegheny) and the resignations of Rep. Summer Lee (D-Allegheny) who was elected to Congress and Rep. Austin Davis (D-Allegheny) who was elected Lieutenant Governor. In a controversial move, House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) was sworn-in on December 7, 2022 and designated herself the presiding officer of
the House. She then scheduled all three special elections for February 7, 2023.
This creates a unique situation where upon swearing-in day on January 3, 2023, the makeup of the state House will be 99 Democrat to 101 Republican with 3 open seats to be decided by special elections. With the Republicans having a clear majority, perhaps only temporarily, it is uncertain what will transpire on January 3rd and who assumes majority control of the state House. The state House’s first orders of business on January 3, 2023, will be swearing-in the Representatives and then electing a Speaker of the House. There could be a scenario where the Republicans control the state House until the special elections are held and the votes certified creating a 102-vote majority for one party or the other.
To further complicate things, state Rep. Lynda Culver (R-Northumberland) is running for the open state Senate seat
recently vacated by Senator John Gordner so if she were to win, that would result in another state House seat being vacated.
Regardless of how this shakes out, we will also see at least 26 new committee chairs including both the state House & state Senate Republican Appropriations chairs. In November, all four legislative caucuses met behind closed doors and elected their respective leadership teams, including chairs of the Appropriations Committees, as follows:
2023-2024 SENATE LEADERSHIP ELECTION RESULTS
Senate Republican Leadership:
Interim President Pro Tempore: Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) Leader: Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) Whip: Ryan Aument (R-Lancaster) Appropriations Chair: Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) Caucus Chair: Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York) Caucus Secretary: Camera Bartolotta (R-
Washington) Policy Chair: Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) Caucus Administrator: Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne)
Senate Democratic Leadership:
Leader: Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) Whip: Tina Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia) Appropriations Chair: Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) Appropriations Vice Chair: Tim Kearney (D-Delaware) Caucus Chair: Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) Caucus Secretary: Maria Collett (D-Montgomery) Caucus Administrator: Judy Schwank (D-Berks) Policy Chair: Katie Muth (D-Montgomery)
C
M 2023-2024 HOUSE LEADERSHIP ELECTION RESULTS
Y
House Republican Leadership:
CM
Leader: Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) MY Appropriations Chairman: Seth Grove (R-York) Whip: Tim O’Neal (R-Washington) CY Caucus Chair: George Dunbar CMY (R-Westmoreland) Caucus Secretary: Martina White K (R-Philadelphia) Caucus Administrator: Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland) Policy Chair: Josh Kail (R-Beaver)
House Democratic Leadership:
Leader: Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) Appropriations Chairman: Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) Whip: Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) Caucus Chair: Dan Miller (D-Allegheny) Caucus Secretary: Tina Davis (D-Bucks) Policy Chair: Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) Caucus Administrator: Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh) However, we anticipate that Rep. Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia) to be elected Speaker of the House, if or when, the Democrats reach a 102-vote majority after the special elections are held and the votes certified. SESSION SCHEDULE With control of the state House still up in the air, only the state Senate has announced its session schedule for January through June of 2023: January 3, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30 & 31 February 1, 27 & 28 March 1, 6, 7 (Budget Address) & 8
Budget Hearings:
March 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29 & 30
April 11, 12 & 13 April 24, 25 & 26 May 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 & 10 June 5, 6, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30 Milliron & Goodman will be sure to keep you updated as the picture in the state House becomes clearer and on legislation of interest as it is introduced in the new legislative session. n
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