The 2023/24 legislative session has come to a close.

Pennsylvania lawmakers spent their last week in Harrisburg making farewell speeches, casting votes on a few bills on the floor, and casting more poignant votes behind closed doors as representatives and senators elected party leadership for the coming 2025/26 session.

Officially, the session ends on Nov 30, but there are no more voting days or committee hearings scheduled at this time. All the winners of the recent election will then take office on Dec 1. Lawmakers won’t return until January, when the whole chambers vote in leadership and new rules for the 2025/26 session.

In the wake of Nov 5 election results, many lawmakers have the future in mind as they close the chapter on the past two years.

The 23/24 session was tumultuous. Republicans have held the Senate since 1980. This year though, House Democrats held the majority for the first time since 2010. Their control was contested for the first two months of 2023 because of special elections. Budget negotiations that year dragged onto December. This year, the chambers managed to negotiate a budget in the summer— and that was about it.

During multiple session weeks in September and October, when it came to legislation requiring compromise and collaboration, senators and representatives were able to— renew the 8-1-1 “Call before you dig” phone line.

They could not agree on funding solutions for public transit, renewing a utility assistance program, or even updating Pennsylvania’s Sunday hunting law.

Looking Forward

Going in Nov 5 elections, many in Harrisburg wondered if the Democrat house majority was an anomaly of the 2022 elections— or the new status quo.

Well, Democrats kept their 1 seat majority.

And lawmakers are buckling in for round two of a divided legislature.

Leadership in both the Senate and House have said they are ready to work towards compromise and middle ground.

“Compromise is not a dirty word. We are ready to do the good work of governing with anyone who comes to the table in good faith,” Rep. Matt Bradford said, leader of the House Democrats.

“We are ready to hold the line on the outrageous spending that comes from our cohorts in the House,” Sen. Kim Ward said, the president pro tempore for the Senate. “With divided legislatures, you’re not going to see ideological legislation pass. We have to work on bills that help the working class— nurses and daycare centers, the people who sent us here."

Politics at Play?

Both groups have pointed to a few nuanced election results as hope for different attitudes in the 2025/26 legislative session.

Republicans won a senate seat in northeast Philadelphia. House Democrats referenced the win several times this week, saying their senate cohorts will have to start taking the concerns of left-leaning Philadelphians more seriously.

When asked on if the representation will have an impact, Republican leader Sen. Joe Pittman said Democrat cohorts in the House have rural members they also must account for in policy crafting.

In turn, Republicans in both the house and senate have referenced the red wave from the Nov 5 election; saying that while House Democrats kept their majority, they might do well to re gauge the priorities of their constituents going into next session.

Partisanship Runs Deeper

Pennsylvania will have the exact same ratio of Democrats to Republicans as it did for the 23/24 session. There were some face changes-- some lawmakers retired or got voted up to the senate. Come Dec 1, there will be 16 new representatives and 4 new senators that take office. But, representatives and senators in majority leadership positions will be the same as this year, with one new face in the House Democrats after Rep. Dan Miller stepped down from being the party whip.

Can Pennsylvanians expect different results with the same people in power?

One representative says that polarization is baked into the general assembly.

“So for instance, on the house floor, there are printers. There are printers just for Democrats. And printers just for Republicans,” Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) said. "Presently, there are photographers who only take pictures of Democrats. This is unnecessary. In fact, it's so bad. Even our email addresses are different."

"It's absurd. And that bakes into the culture of our legislature, which is so polarized,” Rabb said. "And it keeps us from doing our job in meaningful ways. And it upsets constituents who don't want to see this.”

"We have to figure out what can we do structurally to bring down these walls and create dialogue beyond the cameras,” Rabb said. "and there’s really no setting here in the capitol— even though we’re the largest full time state legislature in the country— there’s no opportunity really for Democrats and Republicans to actually talk and listen to each other."