Members of the House and Senate will return to Harrisburg for a few days next week to elect their 2017-2018 leadership teams. We won’t know who is filling what post until sometime Wednesday, but in the meantime, we thought we’d give an overview of the responsibilities of the members of legislative leadership teams.
President of the Senate: Constitutionally, the Lieutenant Governor serves as the President of the Senate. Duties of the President of the Senate include referring bills to committees, presiding over session and maintain order on the floor, ruling on parliamentary inquiries and signing bills to be presented to the Governor for his signature once they are passed in each chamber. Lt. Governor Michael Stack (D) currently serves as president of the Senate and will continue to do so for the remainder of Gov. Wolf’s first term.
President Pro Tempore of the Senate: The “Pro Tem” is elected by the entire Senate, not just the majority party. The primary duty of this post is to stand ready to take over for the President of the Senate should the need arise. The current Pro Tem is Sen. Joe Scarnati (R).
Speaker of the House: The Speaker of the House presides over daily House session and is charged with maintaining order on the floor and ruling on parliamentary inquiries. The Speaker refers each bill to a standing committee and signs each bill that passes both chambers before it is presented to the Governor. Like the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker is elected by the membership of the House as a whole. Rep. Mike Turzai (R) currently serves as the Speaker of the House.
Floor Leader: The Majority Floor Leader is the lead speaker for the majority party during floor debate and develops the legislative calendar. The Minority Floor Leader typically directs the minority party on floor activities and is the chief negotiator with the Majority Leader. Rep. Dave Reed (R) is the current House Majority Leader; his counterpart on the democratic side is Rep. Frank Dermody. In the Senate, Senator Jake Corman (R) serves as the current Majority Floor Leader, and Senator Jay Costa (D) serves as the Minority Floor Leader.
Whip: In both the majority and minority parties, the whip’s primary responsibilities are to ensure member attendance and count votes. The current whips are: Rep. Bryan Cutler (R), Rep. Mike Hanna (D), Sen. John Gordner (R) and Sen. Anthony Williams (D).
Appropriations Chairman: The key role of the Appropriations Chairman in each caucus is to analyze the cost of proposed legislation and serve as the key point of contact during budget negotiations. This position is currently held by Rep. Bill Adolph (R), Rep. Joe Markosek (D), Sen. Pat Browne (R) and Sen. Vince Hughes (D); however, Adolph’s retirement at the end of this session puts this important position up for grabs this year.
Caucus Chairman: The Caucus Chairman is responsible to oversee daily caucus meetings and provide members with the information they need to cast votes on the House or Senate Floor. Current Caucus Chairmen are: Rep. Sandra Major (R), Rep. Dan Frankel (D), Sen. Bob Mensch (R) and Sen. Wayne Fontana (D). Major’s retirement will open up a second leadership position in the House Republican Caucus.
Caucus Secretary: The primary duty of the Caucus Secretary is to keep records of caucus meetings. This position is currently held by: Rep. Donna Oberlander, (R), Rep. Rosita Youngblood (D), Sen. Rich Alloway (R) and Sen. Larry Farnese (D).
Caucus Administrator: Serving as the managerial arm of the leadership team, the Caucus Administrator oversees floor seating and member’s office accommodations. Rep. Brian Ellis (R), Rep. Neal Goodman (D), Sen. Charles McIlhinney (R) and Sen. John Yudichak (D) currently serve as Caucus Administrators.
Caucus Policy Chair: The Policy Chair sets caucus priorities and is responsible to hold hearings on issues of importance to their respective memberships. Current Caucus Policy Chairs are: Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R), Rep. Mike Sturla (D), Sen. David Argall (R) and Sen. Lisa Boscola (D).
Just who will be filling these posts for each caucus will be available on Wednesday. Check back to this blog or follow us on twitter @BuchananGov for an update on the 2017-2018 legislative leadership elections.