Even though candidates’ election night fatigue has barely set in, the question on everyone’s mind now is “what’s next?” What’s next for Governor Corbett and Governor-elect Wolf? What’s next for the state legislature, where republicans hold an even stronger majority going into next session? Though it’s hard to predict any actual outcomes, here are some mile markers we’ll be watching for:
Any day now—so it’s not an actual date, but any day now we can expect Tom Wolf to announce who will head up his transition team, which will soon fall into place. A transition team is established every time a new governor is elected, and is charged with reviewing the staff and the priorities of each office and department under the governor’s jurisdiction, setting the governor’s legislative and regulatory agenda, and addressing any litigation pending against the outgoing administration.
November 12th, 2014—the Pennsylvania House and Pennsylvania Senate will return to Harrisburg to hold leadership elections. With losses on the Democratic sides in both chambers and greater Republican strongholds, leadership elections will be interesting, to say the least. However, don’t expect to see a new Speaker of the House or President Pro Tempore of the Senate just yet; the election for Speaker and Pro Tem on the 12th is an interim election. They won’t be elected until the first day of the new session.
November 30th, 2014—this is the official last day of the 2013-2014 legislative session. No legislative action will occur after this date until into the New Year.
December through January—again, not a date certain, but that’s around when we can expect Wolf to start announcing who he’ll nominate to serve in his cabinet and who he’ll appoint to serve on his senior staff.
January 6th, 2015—Both the House and Senate will convene for the constitutionally mandated first day of the 2015-2016 session. A Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate will be elected and standing committees will hold their inaugural meetings to adopt committee rules.
January 20th, 2015—Inauguration Day. With all due pomp and circumstance, the new governor will be sworn into office early in the day, and a big celebratory soiree will likely follow.
After January 20th—the governor will formally nominate his cabinet. Cabinet positions are subject to Senate confirmation, so nominees will be busy meeting with members of the Senate and making their case for approval by the upper chamber.
Finally, March 3rd, 2015—The Budget Address. Though the governor typically delivers his budget address on the first Tuesday in February, new governors are afforded a constitutional courtesy; they’ve got an extra month to prepare their speech. The very first budget address is really a coming out of sorts for a new governor and it can set the tone for his entire four year term.
There are bound to be some surprises and interesting announcements between now and March, no doubt. You can bet that as soon as we hear anything, we’ll let you know. Check back to this blog frequently, or follow us on Twitter @BuchananGov.