Office of Speaker Dennis M. O’Brien

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

139 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        CONTACT:  Bill Patton

                                                                                                                                   717-443-7025

Speaker O'Brien Appoints Members of Commission on Legislative Reform

Bipartisan panel’s first meeting on Tuesday

HARRISBURG, Jan. 19 --- House Speaker Dennis O’Brien (R-169) today formally appointed the 24 members of the bipartisan Speaker’s Commission on Legislative Reform, based on recommendations by both the majority and minority leaders.

The commission will be co-chaired by Reps. David Steil (R-Bucks) and Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery).

“I am serious about moving quickly to reach consensus on a broad range of reforms in how the House of Representatives conducts the people’s business,” said O’Brien. “The commission members I appointed understand the need for urgency to begin creating a framework for an institution that functions better and more openly.”

Steil and Shapiro will convene the commission’s first meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23 at the state Capitol. They hope to set an ambitious agenda for a rapid series of meetings needed to accomplish the task of recommending changes to the House’s internal operating rules by mid-February.

Until the House adopts permanent rules for the 2007-08 session, the chamber will operate under temporary rules that are very similar to the rules used during the 2005-06 session.

The 12 Republican appointees to the commission are Reps. David Argall, Kerry Benninghoff, Jim Cox, Craig Dally, Glen Grell, Jerry Nailor, Brad Roae, Sam Rohrer, Carole Rubley, Curt Schroder, David Steil, and Michael Vereb.

The 12 Democratic appointees are Reps. Mark Cohen, Bob Freeman, Tim Mahoney, Kathy Manderino, Phyllis Mundy, Chris Sainato, Josh Shapiro, Tom Tangretti, W. Curtis Thomas, Greg Vitali, Don Walko and. Jewell Williams.

“Many House members proposed reforms before this year and those proposals will be a large part of the conversation,” Shapiro said. “In addition, we expect to hear fresh ideas from many of the 50 representatives now serving their first term.”

The commission also will listen to ideas from outside the General Assembly.

“Our focus until mid-February is on proposing reforms to the internal rules of the House of Representatives,” Steil said. “These are changes that could be implemented with a simple majority vote of the House. The commission will defer discussion of statutory and constitutional reforms until after the adoption of House rules.”

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