| Pennsylvania General Assembly |
Article Index for Pennsylvania |
Website Links For Pennsylvania |
Information AboutPennsylvania 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 20 Democrats in the Senate (with one open seat due to the death of Senator Robert Thompson). 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 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 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:
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." {Link without Title} 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 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. [http://www.whp580.com/Durginstuff.html [http://www.declarationofaction.org/]. The pay raise claimed its first victim on Election Day 2005 when Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro was voted out of office becoming the first Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice to be denied retention. Justice Sandra Schultz Newman was retained, by a small margin compared to prior retention elections. Many observers complained that neither justice had taken an active part in the pay raise. However, critics noted that Chief Justice Ralph Cappy helped the legislature draft the bill and that prior Supreme Court decisions upheld practices such as unvouchered expenses. On November 16, 2005, Governor Rendell signed a repeal of the pay raise after a near unanimous vote for repeal. GENERAL ASSEMBLY LEADERSHIP House of Representatives Speaker of the House of Representatives: John M. Perzel (R) Senate President Pro Tempore: Robert C. Jubelirer (R) 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. EXTERNAL LINKS __NOTOC__ |
|
|