Pa. House swears in new member, is back to full complement

Eric Scicchitano, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·3 min read

May 21—HARRISBURG — The winner of a special election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives was sworn into office Tuesday, bringing the lower chamber to its full complement of 203 members.

Republican Jeff Olsommer took the oath on the House floor. He represents the 139th District which includes Pike County and parts of Wayne County.

Olsommer easily defeated Democrat Robin Skibber in a special election held during April's primary election. He succeeds Republican Joe Adams who, citing family concerns, resigned in February.

The House's voting split is 102-101 favoring Democrats. Rep. Joe Kerwin, R-Dauphin, is currently on leave for an international deployment with the Pennsylvania National Guard, presently dropping Republicans to 100 members available to vote.

In his first act, Olsommer became the 101st House member to sign a discharge resolution to force a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would require all registered voters to present an approved ID to cast ballots in all elections.

"I'm proud to add my signature to this petition and stand with my colleagues to get this issue before the voters," Olsommer said. "Trust in our election system is vital to the integrity of the process. It's time we deliver this commonsense reform to Pennsylvanians."

House rules for the 2023-24 legislative session require 25 members of both the Democratic and Republican caucuses to sign the discharge resolution for the proposal to be considered without being approved and advanced out of its assigned House committee. While the resolution is near a numeric majority, it's largely supported by Republicans and lacks support needed from Democrats.

Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, is among the Democrats who have signed the resolution.

Time is short for lawmakers to move any constitutional amendments this session for the November general election ballot including a proposal to open a legal window for victims of child sex abuse to file suit against their accused perpetrators and enablers beyond the existing statute of limitations.

The proposals would have to clear the House and Senate by early August to allow enough time to meet legal advertising requirements ahead of the general election.

"We have the opportunity before us to get this important proposal to the voters in what is expected to be a high-turnout election. Democrats should stop delaying with partisan games and immediately bring this up for a vote in the House so we can get it in front of the voters," House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said.

Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia/Delaware, said that Olsommer's arrival coincides with a busy time on the legislative calendar. The first week of June kicks off four weeks of voting toward finalizing the 2024-25 state budget by the June 30 statutory deadline.

"The House has sent more than 300 bills to the Senate, a majority of them with bipartisan support," McClinton said. "Despite the Senate's inaction, the House will not be deterred from advancing meaningful bills that would aid Pennsylvania's communities and families."