Pennsylvania General Assembly

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the U.S. state of Pennsylvania's legislative branch, seated at the state's capital, Harrisburg. It has been a bicameral legislature since 1790. It consists of a Senate with 50 members and a House of Representatives with 203 members. Both the House and Senate are controlled by Republicans with 109 to 94 Democrats in the House, and 29 to 21 Democrats in the Senate.

The General Assembly meets at noon on the first Tuesday of January and then regularly throughout the year. They 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.

The Assembly meets in the Capitol building which was completed in 1906.

Under the Pennsylvania Constitution, the Assembly must meet in the City of Harrisburg and can only move if given the consent of both chambers.

The Pennsylvania general elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in every even-numbered year. Senators must be at least 25 years old and Representatives at least 21 years old. They must also be citizens and inhabitants of the state for a minimum of four years, living in their respective districts for at least one year. While in office, legislators cannot hold civil office. Even if they resign, the Constitution states that appointments are prohibited for the duration of the term the person was elected for.

The pay raise controversy

At 2:00 am on July 7, 2005, the General Assembly passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials. The raise increased legislators' base pay from 16% to 34% depending on position. The vote took place in the early morning without public review or commentary and Governor Rendell quickly signed the bill.

Opposition sprung up almost immediately with several concerns:

Many residents viewed the raise as exorbitant, considering the perks legislators already enjoy.
Some took exception to the closed nature of the vote; held in the early morning hours when few people were watching.
Others took exception to the fact that most state employees were not included in the raise. The legislation only affected legislators, judges, and district attorneys.

The most contentious point of the raise is that part of the new law enabled legislators to receive their salary increase immediately as "unvouchered expenses". This was viewed by many as unconstitutional, although state courts have ruled similar legislation to be constitutional three previous times. According to Article II, Section 8 of the PA Constitution: "The members of the General Assembly shall receive such salary and mileage for regular and special sessions as shall be fixed by law, and no other compensation whatever, whether for service upon committee or otherwise. No member of either House shall during the term for which he may have been elected, receive any increase of salary, or mileage, under any law passed during such term." ^*

Supporters of the raise argued that the press coverage was one-sided, and that supportive arguments received little if any public airing. These include:

The wage increase still leaves Pennsylvania legislators below 21 of 34 management categories by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor.
By traveling to Harrisburg, legislators have a longer commute than over 98% of all Pennsylvania workers, although legislators do receive a per diem for these expenses.
The average American in a non-supervisory, private sector position works about 40 hours a week, while legislators claim to work 50 hours a week or longer.

The raise spawned several grass-roots movements, some geared toward voting out incumbents and some seeking support for measures like reduction of the legislature, legal action or a Constitutional Convention. ^*.

The pay raise claimed its first victim in November 2005 when Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro became the first Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice to be denied retention. Many observers complained Nigro had not taken part in the pay raise. However, critics noted that Chief Justice Ralph Cappy helped the legislature draft the bill and that prior Court opinions upheld such practices.

On November 16, 2005, Governor Rendell signed a repeal of the pay raise after a near unanimous vote for repeal.

During the 2006 primary election, a total of 17 legislators were defeated for re-election including Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer and Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill. They were the first Pennsylvania legislative leaders to lose a primary election since 1964.

The defeats were attributed to anger over the pay raise.

General assembly leadership

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House of Representatives: John M. Perzel (R)

Majority Party	Leadership Position	Minority Party
Samuel H. Smith	Floor Leader	H. William DeWeese
David G. Argall	Whip	Mike Veon
Elinor Z. Taylor¹	Caucus Chairperson	Mark B. Cohen
Raymond Bunt, Jr.¹	Caucus Secretary	Kevin Blaum¹
Brett Feese¹	Appropriations Committee Chairman	Dwight Evans
Merle Phillips	Caucus Administrator	Fred Belardi³
Mario J. Civera, Jr.	Policy Committee Chairman	Stephen Stetler

Senate

President Pro Tempore: Robert C. Jubelirer (R) ³

Majority Party	Leadership Position	Minority Party
David J. Brightbill ³	Floor Leader	Robert J. Mellow
Jeffrey E. Piccola	Whip	Michael A. O'Pake
Noah W. Wenger¹	Caucus Chairman	Jay Costa Jr.
Robert D. Robbins	Caucus Secretary	Gerald J. LaValle
Robert J. Thompson²	Appropriations Committee Chairman	Vincent J. Fumo
Mary Jo White	Caucus Administrator	Constance H. Williams
Joe Conti¹	Policy Committee Chairman	Richard A. Kasunic

¹ Members who have announced their intention to retire at the end of their terms in 2007.
² Senator Thompson died January 28, 2006 from complications of pulmonary fibrosis.
³ Defeated for re-election in 2006 Primary.

Sources

External links

Pennsylvania General Assembly

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