Pennsylvania General Assembly

Pennsylvania General Assembly

Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Representatives
Leadership
President/Lt. Governor	Mike Stack(D) Since January 20, 2015
President pro tem of the Senate	Joseph B. Scarnati(R) Since January 2, 2007
Leader of the Senate	Jake Corman(R) Since January 6, 2015
Speaker of the House	Mike Turzai(R) Since January 6, 2015
Leader of the House	Dave Reed(R) Since January 6, 2015
Structure
Seats	253 50 Senators 203 Representatives

House of Representatives political groups	Republican Party Democratic Party

State Senate political groups	Republican Party Democratic Party
Elections
House of Representatives last election	November 4, 2014
State Senate last election	November 4, 2014
Meeting place

Pennsylvania State Capitol
Website
www.legis.state.pa.us

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by American revolutionaries, the legislature has been known as the General Assembly. The General Assembly became a bicameral legislature in 1791.

History

During the mid-19th century, the frustration of the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with the extremely severe level of corruption in the General Assembly (i.e., logrolling) culminated in a constitutional amendment in 1864 which prevented the General Assembly from writing statutes covering more than one subject. Unfortunately, the amendment (today found at Section 3 of Article III of the Pennsylvania Constitution) was so poorly written that it also prevented the General Assembly from undertaking a comprehensive codification of the Commonwealth's statutes until another amendment was pushed through in 1967 to provide the necessary exception.^[1] This is why today, Pennsylvania is the only U.S. state that has not yet completed a comprehensive codification of its general statutory law. Pennsylvania is currently undertaking its first official codification process in the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.^[2]^[3]

Membership

The General Assembly has 253 members, consisting of a Senate with 50 members and a House of Representatives with 203 members, making it the second-largest state legislature in the nation (behind New Hampshire) and the largest full-time legislature. As of 2014, members' base pay was $85,356,^[4] making it the costliest state legislature per capita in the U.S.^[5] Republicans hold a 31-19 majority in the Senate and a 120-83 majority in the House.

The Pennsylvania general elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years. A vacant seat must be filled by special election, the date of which is set by the presiding officer of the respective house.

Senators must be at least 25 years old, and Representatives at least 21 years old. They must be citizens and residents of the state for a minimum of four years and reside in their districts for at least one year. Individuals who have been convicted of felonies, including embezzlement, bribery, and perjury, are ineligible for election; the state Constitution also adds the category of "other infamous crimes," which can be broadly interpreted by state courts. No one who has been previously expelled from the General Assembly may be elected.^[6]

Legislative districts are drawn every ten years, following the U.S. Census. Districts are drawn by a five-member commission, of which four members are the majority and minority leaders of each house (or their delegates). The fifth member, who chairs the committee, is appointed by the other four and may not be an elected or appointed official. If the leadership cannot decide on a fifth member, the State Supreme Court may appoint him.

While in office, legislators may not hold civil office. Even if a member resigns, the Constitution states that he may not be appointed to civil office for the duration of the original term for which he was originally elected.

Legislative sessions

Title page of the 1853 Laws of Pennsylvania

The General Assembly convenes at noon on the first Tuesday of January and then meets regularly throughout the year. Both houses adjourn on November 30 in even-numbered years, when the terms of all members of the House and half the members of the Senate expire. Neither body can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other.

The governor may call a special session in order to press for legislation on important issues. Most recently, a special session was called for the purpose of property tax reform.

The Assembly meets in the Pennsylvania State Capitol, which was completed in 1906. Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, the Assembly must meet in the City of Harrisburg and can move only if given the consent of both chambers.

General assembly leadership

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Speaker of the House of Representatives: Mike Turzai (R) ^[7]

Majority Party (R)	Leadership Position	Minority Party (D)
Dave L. Reed	Floor Leaders	Frank Dermody
Bryan Cutler	Whip	Mike Hanna
Sandra Major	Caucus Chair	Dan Frankel
Donna Oberlander	Caucus Secretary	Rosita Youngblood
Bill Adolph	Appropriations Committee Chairman	Joe Markosek
Kerry Benninghoff	Policy Committee Chairman	Mike Sturla
Brian Ellis	Caucus Administrator	Neal Goodman

Pennsylvania House chamber

Pennsylvania Senate chamber

Pennsylvania State Senate

President pro tem of the Senate: Joseph B. Scarnati (R)

Majority Party (R)	Leadership Position	Minority Party (D)
Jake Corman	Leader	Jay Costa
John Gordner	Whip	Anthony H. Williams
Bob Mensch	Caucus Chairman	Wayne Fontana
Rich Alloway	Caucus Secretary	Larry Farnese
Pat Browne	Appropriations Committee Chairman	Vincent Hughes
Dave Argall	Policy Committee Chairman	Lisa Boscola
Chuck McIlhinney	Caucus Administrator	John Yudichak

References

↑ City of Philadelphia v. Commonwealth, 838 A. 2d 566 (Pa. 2003). This decision of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania expressly acknowledges that (1) the original 1864 amendment occurred because of the General Assembly's problems with corruption; and (2) the general view that enactment of a comprehensive codification was hindered by the perception that it would have violated the pre-1967 version of Section 3.
↑ Prince, Mary Miles. Prince's Bieber Dictionary of Legal Citations (6th ed.). Wm. S. Hein Publishing. p. 343. ISBN 1-57588-669-3. LCCN 2001024375.
↑ "Pennsylvania Session Laws > FAQ". Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
↑ Associated Press (2014-11-21). "Legislators, judges and executive branch officials getting a 1.6 percent raise". Pennlive.
↑ "Post General Election Legislative breakdown". The Council of State Governments.
↑ "CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA: Article II - The Legislature". Pennsylvania Constitution Web Page of the Duquesne University School of Law. Duquesne University School of Law. 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
↑ The Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Officers. Legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved on 2015-01-21.

External links

Wikisource has original works on the topic: Pennsylvania General Assembly

Members of the Pennsylvania State Senate

President of the Senate: Mike Stack (D) President pro tempore: Joseph Scarnati (R) Majority Leader: Jake Corman (R) Minority Leader: Jay Costa (D)

Larry Farnese (D) Tina Tartaglione (D) Shirley Kitchen (D) Arthur L. Haywood III (D) John Sabatina (D) Tommy Tomlinson (R) Vincent Hughes (D) Anthony Williams (D) VACANT Chuck McIlhinney (R) Judy Schwank (D) Stewart Greenleaf (R) Lloyd Smucker (R) John Yudichak (D) Rob Teplitz (D) Pat Browne (R) Daylin Leach (D) Lisa Boscola (D) Andy Dinniman (D) Lisa Baker (R) Scott Hutchinson (R) John Blake (D) Gene Yaw (R) Bob Mensch (R) Joseph Scarnati (R) Thomas J. McGarrigle (R) John Gordner (R) Scott Wagner (R) Dave Argall (R) John Eichelberger (R) Pat Vance (R) Patrick J. Stefano (R) Rich Alloway (R) Jake Corman (R) John Wozniak (D) Ryan Aument (R) Guy Reschenthaler (R) Randy Vulakovich (R) Kim Ward (R) Mario Scavello (R) Don White (R) Wayne Fontana (D) Jay Costa (D) John Rafferty (R) Jim Brewster (D) Camera Bartolotta (R) Elder Vogel (R) Mike Folmer (R) Sean Wiley (D) Michele Brooks (R)

Republican (30) Democratic (19) Pennsylvania General Assembly Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania State Senate

Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Speaker: Mike Turzai (R)
Majority Leader: Dave Reed (R)
Minority Leader: Frank Dermody (D)

Pat Harkins (D)
Florindo Fabrizio (D)
Ryan Bizzarro (D)
Curt Sonney (R)
Barry Jozwiak (R)
Brad Roae (R)
Mark Longietti (D)
Tedd Nesbit (R)
Chris Sainato (D)
Jaret Gibbons (D)
Brian L. Ellis (R)
Daryl Metcalfe (R)
John Lawrence (R)
Jim E. Marshall (R)
Jim Christiana (R)
Robert Matzie (D)
Parke Wentling (R)
Gene DiGirolamo (R)
Jake Wheatley (D)
Adam Ravenstahl (D)
Dom Costa (D)
Peter Schweyer (D)
Dan Frankel (D)
Edward Gainey (D)
Joseph Markosek (D)
Tim Hennessey (R)
Dan Deasy (D)
Mike Turzai (R)
Bernie O'Neill (R)
Hal English (R)
Steve Santarsiero (D)
Anthony M. DeLuca (D)
Frank Dermody (D)
Paul Costa (D)
Marc Gergely (D)
Harry Readshaw (D)
Mindy Fee (R)
William C. Kortz (D)
Rick Saccone (R)
John A. Maher (R)
Brett Miller (R)
Dan Miller (D)
Keith Greiner (R)
Mark Mustio (R)
Nick Kotik (D)
Jason Ortitay (R)
Keith J. Gillespie (R)
Brandon Neuman (D)
Peter Daley (D)
Pam Snyder (D)
Timothy S. Mahoney (D)
Ryan Warner (R)
Robert Godshall (R)
Eli Evankovich (R)
Joseph Petrarca, Jr. (D)
George Dunbar (R)
Eric Nelson (R)
Ted Harhai (D)
Mike Reese (R)
Jeff Pyle (R)
Kate M. Harper (R)
Dave L. Reed (R)
Donna Oberlander (R)
Lee James (R)
Kathy Rapp (R)
Cris Dush (R)
Martin Causer (R)
Matt E. Baker (R)
Carl Walker Metzgar (R)
Matthew Bradford (D)
Bryan Barbin (D)
Frank Burns (D)
Tommy Sankey (R)
Harry Lewis (R)
Matt Gabler (R)
Mike Hanna (D)
H. Scott Conklin (D)
Jesse Topper (R)
John McGinnis (R)
Judy Ward (R)
Richard Irvin (R)
Adam Harris (R)
Jeff Wheeland (R)
Garth Everett (R)
Fred Keller (R)
Mark Keller (R)
Greg Rothman (R)
Sheryl M. Delozier (R)
Rob Kauffman (R)
Paul Schemel (R)
Dan Moul (R)
Mike Regan (R)
Kristin Phillips-Hill (R)
Stan Saylor (R)
Kevin Schreiber (D)
Mike Sturla (D)
Steven Mentzer (R)
David Hickernell (R)
David H. Zimmerman (R)
Bryan Cutler (R)
Mauree Gingrich (R)
Russ Diamond (R)
Patty Kim (D)
Sue Helm (R)
Ron Marsico (R)
John D. Payne (R)
Kurt Masser (R)
Lynda Schlegel-Culver (R)
David R. Millard (R)
Tina Pickett (R)
Sandra Major (R)
Frank Farina (D)
Martin Flynn (D)
Sid Michaels Kavulich (D)
David Parker (R)
Tarah Toohil (R)
Karen Boback (R)
Michael B. Carroll (D)
Gerald Mullery (D)
Aaron Kaufer (R)
Eddie Day Pashinski (D)
Doyle Heffley (R)
Neal Goodman (D)
Jerry Knowles (R)
Mike Tobash (R)
Mark Rozzi (D)
Thomas Caltagirone (D)
Mark M. Gillen (R)
Jim Cox (R)
David M. Maloney (R)
Justin Simmons (R)
Michael Schlossberg (D)
Daniel McNeill (D)
Ryan Mackenzie (R)
Steve Samuelson (D)
Robert L. Freeman (D)
Joe Emrick (R)
Marcia Hahn (R)
Michael Peifer (R)
John Galloway (D)
Tina Davis (D)
Frank Farry (R)
Marguerite Quinn (R)
Kathy Watson (R)
Craig Staats (R)
Tom Quigley (R)
Marcy Toepel (R)
Mary Jo Daley (D)
Tim Briggs (D)
Mike Vereb (R)
Todd Stephens (R)
Tom Murt (R)
Madeleine Dean (D)
Steve McCarter (D)
Becky Corbin (R)
Dan Truitt (R)
Warren Kampf (R)
L. Chris Ross (R)
Thaddeus Kirkland (D)
Stephen Barrar (R)
Leanne Krueger-Braneky (D)
Nicholas Miccarelli III (R)
James Santora (R)
Margo L. Davidson (D)
Bill Adolph (R)
Greg Vitali (D)
Duane Milne (R)
Tom Killion (R)
Kate Klunk (R)
Martina White (R)
Kerry Benninghoff (R)
Kevin J. Boyle (D)
Michael Driscoll (D)
Ed Neilson (D)
Michael H. O'Brien (D)
Jack Rader (R)
John J. Taylor (R)
Scott Petri (R)
Jason Dawkins (D)
Angel Cruz (D)
Curtis Thomas (D)
Brian Sims (D)
Julie Harhart (R)
William F. Keller (D)
Maria Donatucci (D)
Jordan Harris (D)
Gary Day (R)
James R. Roebuck, Jr. (D)
Rosemary Brown (R)
Vanessa L. Brown (D)
Joanna E. McClinton (D)
Lynwood Savage (D)
Will Tallman (R)
Pam DeLissio (D)
Donna Bullock (D)
Seth Grove (R)
Leslie Acosta (D)
Rosita Youngblood (D)
Stephen Bloom (R)
Tonyelle Cook-Artis (D)
Stephen Kinsey (D)
Mark B. Cohen (D)
Dwight E. Evans (D)

Legislatures of the United States

United States Congress	United States House of Representatives United States Senate

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Other legislatures	District of Columbia American Samoa (H, S) Guam Northern Mariana Islands (H, S) Puerto Rico (H, S) U.S. Virgin Islands

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