Lawmakers return to Harrisburg for brief fall session
Pennsylvania's House of Representatives The House will have just 12 voting days before lawmakers retire to their districts for the election. (AP file photo)
After a long summer break, Pennsylvania’s House is back in session — for now. But lawmakers aren’t expecting to tackle anything too divisive before Election Day.
The House will have just 12 voting days before lawmakers retire to their districts for the election. The Senate, which returns next week, will have nine.
Major items on the docket include decisions on expanded gambling and a state pension overhaul. Gov. Tom Wolf is also seeking a joint session to address the opioid crisis.
But Rep. Dom Costa, for one, said he doesn’t think the more controversial decisions will be made before Nov. 8.
“We’re looking at it, but I just don’t believe there’s enough time to get it all done,” said Costa, D-Allegheny.
Other lawmakers echoed Costa’s view.
Costa also said he’s “hoping that we go into the next session with the bipartisanship that we’ve been showing toward the end of this session,” and that he expects lawmakers to accomplish more in the next session.
Two post-election voting days are currently on the House schedule, but it’s unclear if any major decisions issues are to be considered then.
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