PA House elects first female parliamentarian after resignation Spotlight PA

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HARRISBURG — Democrat Joanna McClinton was elected the first female Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.Mark Rozzi resigned after two months as Speaker of the House.

McClinton was supported by all 102 Democrats in the House and no Republicans.

After taking the oath of office, McClinton said, “I am grateful to everyone who fought before me… this day was possible.” “I am standing here today only on their shoulders.”

McClinton is the first woman and second black to serve as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, after K. Leroy Urvis.

Rozzi announced his resignation at the beginning of Tuesday’s session of the state legislature.

His brief time as Speaker was defined by partisan strife and stalemate over the rules governing the House. Rozzi told his Spotlight PA that he hopes his legacy will be a package of rules that will give laymen from both major parties a greater say on parliamentary agendas.

“The rules that I am enacting are [are] We plan to allow 102 lawmakers from any party to introduce a bill in this House,” a Berks County lawmaker told Spotlight PA Tuesday morning.

“Leaders should be equal for everyone,” he added.

Rozzi said he was resigning to accomplish what he wanted and make way for McClinton.

Rozzi told Spotlight PA that the Democrats won a one-vote majority, saying, “The numbers are so tight that all the legislation will have to be compromised.” “So I think [McClinton is] He is the right person to lead this house right now. And I couldn’t be more proud of the woman who will be voting for Speaker of the House. “

Rozzi announced his resignation four days after overseeing the state legislature’s passage of two bills that would allow child victims of sexual abuse to sue their perpetrators and the agencies that protected them. The issue was crucial for her Rozzi, who was abused by a Catholic priest as a teenager.

Lotze’s Surprise Rise to Speakers Designed by Republicans in the state House of Representatives.

He was elected Speaker by a vote of 115 to 85, with the support of all Democrats and 16 Republicans, including the party’s entire leadership team.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans could have maintained a majority if Rozzi had dropped his registration.

However, although he promised to rule as an independent in his acceptance speech, Lotzi did not leave the Democratic Party.

Within a week of Rozzi’s election, his closest Republican supporter, Rep. Jim Gregory (R. Blair), called for his resignation from the presidency. At the same time, Lotzi regularly met with Democratic leaders in the state House of Representatives.

Rozzi told Spotlight PA that he signed the deal knowing the Republicans were trying to take advantage of him and decided they were “going to pay for it.”

“Harrisburg has a lot of problems, and the way I was elected as chairman is a good indication of what was wrong with Harrisburg, because Republicans had a majority at the time,” Lotzi said. Told. “But they tried to manipulate, hoodwink and snooker the members of this Assembly by electing me, thinking I would follow their bid. deaf.”

Rozzi’s presidency was mostly marked by partisan stalemate over the rules that govern Congress and determine who controls the legislative agenda.

State representatives usually adopt the rules on the first day of the new legislature. Democrats didn’t put forward the proposal publicly in January, but Republicans did and encouraged a vote.

Rozzi instead hollowed out the conference room and formed a bipartisan working group, Statewide listening tour to solicit opinions from citizens and activists.

Mr. Rozzi was told overwhelmingly that the House should enact rules that would give all lawmakers a say in decision-making, rather than leaders or committee chairs.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Rozzi had not publicly announced the proposed rule, but his office had summarized some of the proposed changes in a news release last week.

These include making it easier to force legislative votes in committees or on the floor, increasing representation in committees for minority political parties, and expanding protections against sexual harassment and discrimination. (The latter became more relevant after a lobbyist told his Rozzi working group earlier this month: An unnamed sitting lawmaker harassed herUnder previous rules, she could not file a complaint. )

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