Democratic leaders quiet ahead of session

By Christen Smith | The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA – When Pennsylvania House lawmakers return for session on Tuesday next week, three new Democrats will be among them.

Beyond that, little is known about how the chamber’s organization will shift amid a gridlock over operating rules and simmering tension between Republican and Democratic leaders.

A spokesperson for House Democrats declined to comment Tuesday about whether Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Temple, will stay in the chamber’s most powerful position after rumors began swirling that he’d be replaced by Rep. Joanna McClinton, the party’s leader. The Center Square’s questions regarding movement in negotiations over rules were also left unaddressed.

Rozzi drew ire from Republicans last month after he walked back promises to drop his party affiliation, becoming independent, and to no longer caucus with Democrats. The perceived deception further fractured an agreement on operating rules, which left the chamber unable to form committees, hold hearings and schedule votes.

Attempts to contact Rozzi about the criticisms were unsuccessful Tuesday, though he has dismissed the focus on his political affiliation as “hyper-partisan” in past statements.

The gridlock derailed a packed legislative calendar that saw lawmakers in session nearly every week into April. Rozzi used the break to conduct a statewide listening tour with a bipartisan group of legislators to collect public input on how to solve the impasse.

Meanwhile, Republicans scheduled a slew of policy committee hearings to discuss the issues they say they are unable to act upon amid the stalemate.

Jason Gottesman, the House Republican spokesman, told The Center Square on Tuesday the Democrats were unwilling to “talk in any serious way” about operating rules until the outcome of last Tuesday’s special elections cemented their one-seat majority.

“With just a week before we are to return to session, neither Speaker Rozzi nor House Democrats have made public any version of their rules or other legislative proposals and agenda items they would like us to take up,” he said. “Leaving the chamber in the literal dark about what we will be voting on seems like a bad way to get things started for Speaker Rozzi and the new House Democratic majority.”

Gottesman pointed to a rules proposal House Republicans shared last month that offered a list of changes, including tweaking how many members of each party sit on committees.

In the past, majority members held 15 positions to the minority’s 10. House Republicans want this split shifted to 13-12. Gottesman said the proposal, which he described as a starting point, reflects “our current legislative realities and increase transparency, efficiency and overall good government.”

For his part, Rozzi on Twitter committed to passing rules that consider the comments he heard from residents “outside of the Harrisburg bubble” about how to get “back on track.” He also promised to advance both a constitutional amendment and statutory legislation to offer adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse a two-year retroactive window to sue their abusers in court.

The seminal policy, which has garnered broad bipartisan support, missed a statutory deadline to appear on the May primary ballot as the House’s stalemate lingered.