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Pennsylvania elections threaten amendment push

  • Spanish Market: Coal, Emissions, Natural gas
  • 08/02/23

Pennsylvania Democrats prevailed Tuesday in special elections for three open seats in the state House of Representatives, giving the party a slim majority in the chamber and complicating Republicans' efforts to counter Democratic governor Josh Shapiro's energy policies.

The victories could make it harder for the legislature to block the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) or to enact more stringent environmental and energy regulations in the future.

Democrats Joe McAndrew, Abigail Salisbury, and Matt Gergely each won at least 70pc of the vote in the three House districts, according to preliminary state election returns. When the House reconvenes later this month, Democrats will control 102 of the chamber's 203 seats.

Democrats won a majority of seats in last year's midterms, but because two House members won election to higher office and another passed away, Republicans have held a plurality of seats in the chamber to start 2023. Mark Rozzi, a moderate Democrat elected as a compromise House speaker, adjourned the chamber last month when lawmakers could not agree on a rules package.

The election results complicate Republicans' push to send multiple proposed constitutional amendments to voters this year. One proposal would allow lawmakers to reject proposed regulations with a simple majority vote even if the governor objects, which critics warn could stymie efforts to reduce air pollution from oil and gas companies.

Such amendments must pass by a simple majority vote in the House and Senate over two successive legislative sessions before heading to voters. Pennsylvanians then vote on each amendment separately.

The regulatory amendment passed both chambers last year and the Republican-controlled Senate again last month, making the House the final obstacle before voters can weigh in.

Lawmakers could elect a new speaker when the House reconvenes on 21 February. After last year's elections, representative Joanna McClinton (D) was expected to serve as the chamber's leader.

"Please stay tuned to see what the will of this body will be," McClinton said yesterday.

Both McClinton and Rozzi voted against the amendments last year, but the package that passed the Senate this year is slightly different. Republicans there scrapped some proposals and added a previously approved amendment on child abuse that Rozzi strongly supports and that never came before voters because of a procedural error.

Many Democrats have criticized Republicans for combining unrelated amendments in a single package, and an unresolved lawsuit contends such consolidation is unlawful.

The Pennsylvania House Democratic caucus today tweeted support for a "clean amendment" on child abuse, not a package of various proposals. Rozzi has been more vague, simply saying that ratifying the abuse amendment is his top priority.

Shapiro, who took office last month, should have a stronger bargaining position now that Democrats control the House. Positioning himself as a bipartisan dealmaker, Shapiro has promised to forge some compromise around the state's entry into the RGGI power plant cap-and-trade program, which Republicans oppose.


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