Pa. House Speaker comes to Wilkes-Barre to listen

Feb. 3—WILKES-BARRE — Christa Caceres recounted her own sexual abuse as a youngster "at the hands of a monster," suffering "almost daily attacks."

She urged the state legislators gathered at King's College Thursday to revise state statute limitations on the crime, noting "the offenders did not have a window as to when and where they did what they did."

The president of the Monroe County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was the first person offered a chance to speak as new state Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi's "Move Pennsylvania Forward Listening Tour" stopped at King's. Rozzi has said no legislation will be taken up until the house considers a constitutional amendment granting child sex abuse victims the power to file claims that are now legally outdated.

Rozzi is himself a survivor of sexual abuse, a subject he has discussed openly, including during a 2018 Times Leader interview.

Saying she didn't report her abuse for about five years, Caceres urged the amendment be presented on its own, not bundled with other proposals as has been recent practice — a recommendation repeated by several other speakers. Members of the audience who spoke also said rules should be changed so the public has at least a week to comment on proposed amendments before they are voted on by the legislature, and that the required public vote on such amendments should be held in the November general election, not the May primary as has been happening, so more voters would be able to participate.

Citing his Cuban heritage, Dr. Duncan MacLean of Lebanon said more power should be given to rank and file house members, rather than concentrated in the majority leadership as it is now. This would give those from districts with large minorities more of a voice. "Rules should empower the representatives."

Luzerne County Election Board Chair Denise Williams stressed she was not speaking on behalf of the board as she told how disillusioned she has become with the way Harrisburg works. She argued that co-sponsorship of bill should have more importance, requiring that bills with the most cosponsors, especially bipartisan support, should get higher priority in moving through the legislative process.

Williams called for more transparency in the Constitutional Amendment process, calling recent amendment efforts that included behind-doors meetings and midnight legislative votes "shenanigans" and suggesting more public input. She said there should be a ban on having amendment referenda voted on in primary elections. And she called for more legal clarity from the state on mail ballot drop boxes as well as giving counties more time before an election to pre-canvas mail ballots already received.

Several people called for open primaries that would at least allow independent and those not registered with the two main parties to vote in the spring. Others called for a ban on gifts to legislators, non-partisan drawing of legislative maps, and more state funding and support for public schools, firefighters and emergency responders.

Rozzi was joined by three members of a bipartisan Speaker's Workgroup. In January he appointed Republicans Paul Schemel, Jason Ortitay and Valerie Gaydos as well as Democrats Morgan Cephas, Peter Schweyer and Tim Briggs to the workgroup. He has tasked the group to find a bipartisan agreement to end what he called gridlock in the House. Until rules are set, the house can't act on legislation. This was the last stop on the tour's announced schedule.

Local representatives, including Republicans Aaron Kaufer of Kingston and Alec Ryncavage of Plymouth, and Democrat Eddie Day Pashinski attended the session, as did former Democratic majority House leader Todd Eachus.

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish