The General Assembly returned to Harrisburg this week to begin preparing bills for votes in October. There is never a shortage of issues to be addressed, but there is a shortage of time. Only 6 session days are scheduled in the Senate, and 8 in the House prior to November election. Both House and Senate leadership have agreed not to hold a lame duck session.
This time crunch means that big issues like transportation funding and pension reform will be held over until 2013. Still on the docket for this fall is charter schools legislation, which has been one of Corbett’s top priorities since he took office.
Legislation to include Penn State and other state-related universities under Open Records law is also lined up, and the legislature may or may not take another crack at privatizing state-owned liquor stores (Click here to view a recent story by Radio Smart Talk: What PA can learn from Washington liquor sales going private).
Any bills not passed and signed into law by Governor Corbett before the current legislative session ends on November 30 will need to be reintroduced next year at the start of the 2013-14 legislative session.