The Pennsylvania State House will pass bills for the first time in 2023

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – The Pennsylvania State House is working and passing bills for the first time in 2023. Spokesman Mark Rozzi has enforced his priorities in what he calls “Rozzi Rules,” but there’s still one major stumbling block.

Rozzi’s priority has always been justice and help for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and on Friday, February 24, his mission was finally accomplished, but only in one chamber.

The Pennsylvania State House bipartisanally passed House Bill 1, a constitutional amendment that allows survivors to sue their offenders beyond the statute of limitations. The legislature took a two-pronged approach and also passed House Bill 2, a traditional piece of legislation that would do the same thing as House Bill 1.

The problem? The House version disagrees with the Senate version.

Senate Bill 1 passed weeks ago but was bundled with two other amendments.

In order to make it to the vote in November, the same language must be adopted by both chambers.

Rozzi urged the Pennsylvania Senate to pass the House version soon.

“People are angry. People are angry and they will do anything to get that message across to this commonwealth. The Senate needs to come in next week and start looking at these bills, and if they don’t, the 13,000,000 residents of this commonwealth will let them know,” Rozzi said.

Less than an hour after Rozzi’s comment, the Republican Senate leader said they passed their version weeks ago, and had Rozzi not sealed off the House chamber and passed the Senate version, she could have made it to the May vote.

Once again, survivors of childhood sexual abuse are caught in the middle of a bureaucratic struggle.