Advocacy and Influence at the State
Level
Tips on Navigating the PA General Assembly
Presented by
Jamie 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 reintroduced 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 Leadership
Senate 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 Leadership
House 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
Percentage of Bills
that became Acts
Number of 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