Lame duck at death’s door in Pa.
Senators attend a voting session on the floor of the Pennsylvania state Senate at the Capitol in Harrisburg. Only a handful of sessions are expected in September and October.(Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo, file)
It doesn’t look like lame ducks will vote in Pennsylvania’s Legislature this year.
Of course, that could change. House leaders say they haven’t discussed whether they would hold votes after the November election. Senate leaders have said they may call a lame-duck session for some kind of emergency.
A lot of big-deal legislative proposals remain unresolved: smaller items include updating the state’s open records law and helping distressed cities, as well as the heavier lifts that linger, such as public pension overhaul and liquor privatization. If those bills don’t pass this year, lawmakers have to start over on negotiations next year.
“We don’t have a whole lot of legislative days to close things out,” said Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, this week. Both chambers have scheduled no more than 11 session days in September and October combined. “We have to make certain that we utilize those legislative days available really efficiently.”
Costa reiterated his hope that the Nov. 4 election marks the end of legislative business for the year.
“We continue to believe that there should not be a lame-duck session,” Costa said. “We don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Critics of lame-duck sessions say they leave room for “mischief.” They allow lawmakers who have lost their re-election bids to vote on legislation with no accountability.
The Senate has ruled out lame-duck sessions since 2008, but the House came back after an election in 2010. That’s how the state’s most recent public pension overhaul was passed.
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