At midnight November 30, the 2015-16 legislative session formally ended and all legislation not on the Governor’s desk for action died; most will be reintroduced next year.

That also means there will be no legislative solution to the layoff of 500+ state unemployment compensation call center employees Gov. Wolf is blaming the Senate Republicans for and the Republicans are saying Wolf could solve in other ways.

There were 3,783 bills introduced during the 2015-16 session-- 2,370 House, 1413 Senate; of which 271 became law and 17 were vetoed by the Governor.  There were also 1,611 resolutions introduced-- 1,116 in the House and 495 in the Senate.

December 1 was the official first day of work for the new and returning members of the 2017-18 General Assembly and those changes are now reflected on the Senate and House website, although some pages are still missing member photos.

Members also started to get paid for the new session.

January 3 is swearing in day for new and re-elected members of the Senate and House. 

There are 6 brand-new members of the Senate-- 5 Republicans and 1 Democrat and 22 brand-new members of the House-- 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

Overall, Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the Senate-- 34 to 16 and also hold majority in the House-- 122 to 81 (with one race technically not yet decided).

Senate and House standing committee do not typically get fully organized with all members until late January, although the Republican and Democratic caucuses in the Senate and House name committee chairs on swearing in day or soon after.

In the House, with the exception of the Chair of the Appropriations Committee who is selected by each caucus, who gets committee chairs is largely a matter of seniority.  If two members of the caucus are vying for the same chairmanship, the most senior usually wins.

NewsClips:

No Solution In Sight For Jobless Call Center Layoffs

Political Sticking-Point Leading To Over 500 State Layoffs

John Baer: Pick Your Grinch On Jobless Center Layoffs

[Posted Dec. 2, 2016[

12/5/2016