Advocacy and Influence at the State Level

Tips on Navigating the PA General Assembly

Presented byJamie Buchenauer, Office of Public Information, PHEAA

PA General Assembly: Basic Facts

• Two Houses – Senate and House of Representatives

• 253 members – 203 House members, 50 Senators

• 4 caucuses – House Republicans and Democrats, Senate Republicans and Democrats

• Each of the General Assembly Caucuses operate independently.

Currently. . .until the election on November 6th

• The Republicans control (have the majority) in the House of Representatives and the Senate.– House – 109 (R) and 91 (D) – 3 vacancies– Senate – 29 (R) and 20 (D) – 1 vacancy

• House members are up for re-election every two years.

• Senate members are up for re-election every 4 years – ½ the Senate members are up for election every two years.

November 6th Elections

• 25 open seats in the House (due to retirement running for other offices etc.)

• 4 open seats in the Senate.• 3 members of the House running for two

offices:– Rep. John Maher (R-Allegheny), State House & Auditor

General – Rep. Eugene DePasquale (D-York), State House & Auditor

General – Rep. Matt Smith (D-Allegheny), State House & State Senate

Re-apportionment

• Every 10 years the Congressional districts, House and Senate districts are re-drawn.

• 1990, 2000, 2010• 2010 reapportionment plan started -2012

– 2nd final plan adopted.• Party in control of the House and Senate

control the drawing of the maps.

Legislative Sessions

• Two years in length • Introduced bill has two years to be

enacted (passed by each chamber, signed by the Governor).

• At the end of the two years – session ends and all bills have to be re-introduced in the new session.

• Sine die sessions.

Legislative Process

• How a bill becomes a law.– Passed by committee, chamber and then sent

to the other chamber, etc.

• How a bill becomes a law in Harrisburg.– Amendment process very important.– Rules– Voting

• Committees - (Rules and Appropriations) – instrumental to bills being enacted.

Committee Structure

• Standing Committees– Senate has 22 standing committees– House has 28 standing committees.– First step in getting an issue heard.– Majority and minority chairman of each

committee.

• Most bills will then have to go to the Appropriations Committees or the Rules Committee.

Who to contact in the PA General Assembly. . .

• Your Representative or Senator

• Depending on the issue– Bill sponsor– Committee chairmen– Members of Leadership– Staff in the House or the Senate

• Committee Staff• Leadership Staff

Senate LeadershipSenate Republican Leadership:

President Pro Tempore: Joe Scarnati (Jefferson)Leader: Dominic Pileggi (Delaware)

Appropriations Chairman: Jake Corman (Centre)Whip: Pat Browne (Lehigh)

Caucus Chair: Mike Waugh (York)Caucus Secretary: Bob Robbins (Mercer)

Caucus Administrator: John Gordner (Columbia)Policy Chair: Edwin Erickson (Delaware)

Senate Democratic Leadership:Leader: Jay Costa (Allegheny)

Appropriations Chairman: Vince Hughes (Philadelphia)Whip: Anthony H. Williams (Philadelphia)Caucus Chair: Richard Kasunic (Fayette)

Caucus Secretary: Christine Tartaglione (Philadelphia)Caucus Administrator: Wayne Fontana (Allegheny)

Policy Chair: Lisa Boscola (Northampton)

House LeadershipHouse Republican Leadership:

Speaker: Sam Smith (R-Jefferson)Leader: Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny)

Appropriations Chairman: Bill Adolph (R-Delaware)Whip: Stan Saylor (R-York)

Caucus Chair: Sandra Major (R-Susquehanna)Caucus Secretary: Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery)

Caucus Administrator: Dick Stevenson (R-Mercer)Policy Chair: Dave Reed (R-Indiana)

House Democratic Leadership:Leader: Frank Dermody (Allegheny)

Appropriations Chairman: Joe Markosek (Allegheny) Whip: Mike Hanna (Clinton)

Caucus Chair: Dan Frankel (Allegheny) Caucus Secretary: Jennifer Mann (Lehigh)

Caucus Administrator: Ron Buxton (Dauphin) Policy Chair: Mike Sturla (Lancaster)

How to make your voice heard on important issues. . .

Visit members

Write members

Call members

Logistics – the State Capitol or the District?

• Preferable – visit your members in their district offices. – Know you are a constituent.– While they will still be busy – they don’t

have all the distractions of Harrisburg.

• Tips for the visit – – Call ahead and make an appointment– Be prepared

Tips for a Visit to Harrisburg

• Call ahead• Be flexible• Committee meetings and press

conferences are for the public, feel free to attend.

• The layout of the Capitol is not user friendly. The E floor contains offices in the 500.

• Enjoy the building.

Where to find information about the General Assembly – www.legis.pa.state.us

Researching Bills, Regulations and Laws

• General Assembly website has become user friendly in the past few years.

• www.legis.state.pa.us– Listing of all bills from this legislative session

and past legislative sessions.– Listing of all the Act (legislation) enacted into

law by year.– Link to regulations, promulgated by Agencies.

Researching Bills

Researching Acts

If you know the year of the act. . .

Number of Bills vs. Number of Acts

Legislative Session Number of HB Number of SB Number of ActsPercentage of Bills that became Acts

2001-2002 3018 1595 353 8%

2003-2004 3012 1280 306 7%

2005-2006 3088 1387 285 6%

2007-2008 2843 1618 213 5%

2009-2010 2788 1499 181 4%

2011-2012 2711 1607 277 6%

Questions?

Jamie Buchenauer

717-720-7670

jbuchena@pheaa.org