HARRISBURG, Pa. - It was expected to be something of a special day in Harrisburg on Monday.
State Rep. Mark Rozzii, D-Berks, took his first steps as the speaker of the state House of Representatives.
And there was only one item set for the day — a special session on extending the statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse, called for by Gov. Tom Wolf.
- Pennsylvania's new Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi was set to hold a special session on extending the statute of limitations for victims of childhood sexual abuse. That never happened
- Republican house leader Bryan Cutler called for the house to enact rules before proceeding
- Legislators stalled for hours, ending the day with no vote and postponing sessions for two days
Instead, legislators stalled for most of the day and ended the evening without any vote.
Sessions for the next two days were canceled as well.
Rozzi, who last week indicated he would switch to become an independent as House speaker but had not at press time, opened the meeting and allowed a question from state Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster.
Cutler, the Republican House leader and a former speaker himself, requested rules for the House before proceeding.
He noted that since legislators were gathered for a special session, no rules had been approved for how the governing body should operate.
“We have not yet convened and have rules for regular session," Cutler said. "My parliamentary inquiry is, what rules will be governing our current special session?”
Rozzi replied, “Leader, that will be up to the House when the House introduces the rules and votes on them.”
Cutler continued, pushing for rules to be set.
“If we do not have rules, and we are to wait for the appointed time, what business will we be undertaking today?” he asked.
"It has become apparent that the Democratic and Republican caucuses are too far apart to proceed."State Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi
Following Cutler’s questions, the House entered an hours-long recess as both caucuses entered meetings.
In the meantime, state Rep. Jim Gregory , R-Blair, issued a letter calling for Rozzi’s resignation.
Gregory initially supported Rozzi as the speaker of the House. But in a letter Gregory released on Monday, as the chamber sat in recess, the legislator said Rozzi had broken a promise by not switching parties to become an independent.
“The bonds of trust between friends — as close as you and I have been — are now broken,” the letter read.
Following the release of this letter, the House delayed coming back to the session at least three times.
Finally, after 7:30 p.m., it was announced there would be no voting for the rest of the day, and sessions planned for Tuesday and Wednesday had been postponed.
Shortly after this announcement, Rozzi released a statement saying he will create a bipartisan committee to address the issue and "cut through the noise."
"It has become apparent that the Democratic and Republican caucuses are too far apart to proceed," Rozzi said. "This sort of partisan divide is what has plagued Pennsylvanian politics for far too long."
