The chamber’s temporary rules that allowed senators to cast votes on legislation in committee meetings and on the Senate floor expired on March 31.
Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, said on Monday an extension of those rules to the end of May will be considered next week and she will support that extension.
Ward’s spokeswoman Erica Clayton Wright said, “This will give the Senate employees and members the time and opportunity to get vaccinated as we reopen.”
Wright also indicated that as recently as within the last two weeks at least one Senate employee tested positive for COVID-19. Neither she nor a spokeswoman for the Democratic caucus could provide any further details about that.
Like the state House of Representatives, the Senate first put in place a remote participation rule in March 2020 following the first presumed cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. It allowed members to cast votes from a location other than the House or Senate floor either by proxy in the House or with the help of interactive technology in the Senate.
Both chambers renewed their remote participation rules when the new legislative session started in January. The House’s temporary rule on remote voting extends to Aug. 1 unless revoked or amended.
But with the Senate rule’s expiration at the end of last month, a memo went out to senators last Tuesday from Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, advising them they had to be at the Capitol to have their vote count.
The memo stated, “With the expiration of the emergency rule, physical presence will be required to establish a quorum at all voting committee meetings and session, as well as for the purpose of voting by a member who is not on approved legislative, military or Capitol leave.”
The day after that memo was issued, Ward’s spokeswoman said Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to open the Capitol to the public on March 22 signaled to the General Assembly that it was safe to return to do the people’s business.
“There are important decisions that need to be made on behalf of the commonwealth throughout the next few months, and as elected officials it is important that we lead by example,” Wright said. “Just as businesses are reopening across the Commonwealth so should we.”
But a Friday conversation between Ward and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa of Allegheny County led to the informal agreement to seek an extension of the remote participation rules. Costa declined comment for this story.
But two younger members of the Senate Democratic Caucus — Sens. Lindsey Williams of Allegheny County and Amanda Cappelletti of Delaware County — made it clear Corman’s memo was disturbing to them.
They found it disappointing that he would want to return to in-person sessions before all senators and staffers were eligible to schedule their COVID-19 vaccination. (On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and the vaccine task force announced starting on Tuesday, all Pennsylvania adults were eligible to schedule an appointment.)
Williams and Cappelletti, a public health professional, are among the senators who have mostly steered clear of the Capitol this year. Both indicated it is because of the refusal of some senators to wear masks on the Senate floor and as of last week, both were still waiting to get shots in their arms.
They are hopeful that Costa and Ward’s informal agreement wins the full Senate approval. In some states, remote participation has become as political as mask wearing. The Arkansas Senate, for one, voted in February to end remote participation after a heated exchange between lawmakers.
“I will be pleased if we extend the rules regarding remote session until the end of May,” Williams said. “That gives members and staff more time to get vaccinated and helps keep them safe. I hope that all members will wear masks while inside the Capitol complex.”
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