Pennsylvania state lawmakers denounced violence in Washington on Wednesday after a mob of Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol to impede the official count of Electoral College votes.
Cynthia Fernandez of Spotlight PA
HARRISBURG It looked like Rep. Steve Samuelson’s proposal had a bright future.
In 2017, he co-authored a joint resolution to turn over legislative redistricting power to ordinary people, rather than lawmakers. At its peak, the measure had 110 co-sponsors, he said, including dozens of Republicans more than enough support to pass the House.
But instead of getting a floor vote, the measure languished in committee for months, as Samuelson pleaded with the panel’s chair, Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R., Butler), to bring it up for a vote.
With time running out, the Northampton County Democrat in 2018 attempted a last-ditch parliamentary move called a discharge resolution to release the proposal from committee.
Senate Republicans Reject Efforts to Make the PA Senate More Effective and Transparent
Harrisburg, Pa. − January 5, 2021 − Today, Senate Republicans rejected efforts by Senator Lindsey M. Williams (D-Allegheny), Senator Katie Muth (D-Chester, Montgomery, Berks), and the Democratic caucus to reform the Senate operating rules and procedures in ways that would increase transparency, advance policy, and ensure that members are able to adequately represent their constituents.
Under Senate procedures, operating rules for the new Session have historically been adopted by Unanimous Consent Resolution (UCR), which are not required to receive a bill number and be pre-filed with the Legislative Data Processing Center (LDPC) and made publicly available. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) offered the Republican version of these rules. Because this text was not made readily available prior to the vote and is, as of the time of this release, still not readily available online,