Pa. Senate chooses Ward to return as President Pro Tempore

Jan. 2—HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state senators reelected Republican Sen. Kim Ward to again lead the upper chamber as its President Pro Tempore.

The unanimous voice vote cast at the State Capitol on Tuesday returns Ward, R-Westmoreland, to the leadership role for the second consecutive year. She's the first woman to hold the position.

Ward paid respects to state senators from both sides of the aisle while panning the national politics in Washington, D.C.

"It makes our nation and our citizens look so divided," Ward said of hyper-partisanship in the nation's capital.

"We have respect for each other," Ward continued about the Pennsylvania Senate. "We talk about politics, about issues and personal interests. We do that, all of us, and we see each other as people, not parties."

Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Northumberland/Montour/Snyder/Columbia/Luzerne, credited Ward with being determined and formidable, compassionate and kind. She said the President Pro Tempore understands the value of crossing the aisle, reflected by a first-of-its-kind law, Act 1 of 2023, that erased out-of-pocket costs for certain genetic testing and supplemental screenings for breast cancer.

"She has a way of making the impossible possible," Culver said.

Ward spoke of bipartisan support this session that resulted in an increased child care tax credit, increased funding for schools and community colleges, and increased mileage reimbursement for ambulances.

She also spoke of ongoing bipartisan work to introduce and advance legislation to boost transparency and protect against sexual harassment in state government including inside the State Capitol.

"With Sen. Ward we have been very fortunate this past year through leadership that's been both balanced and fair, honest and straightforward, and an individual who gives strong consideration to this chamber but also every member," Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said.

One other initiative that will take a bipartisan effort in both chambers is engineering a new system to split state funding among Pennsylvania's 500 public school districts.

A final report is due Jan. 11 from the 15-member Basic Education Funding Commission recommending how the commonwealth can institute an equitable system and close funding gaps between low-wealth and high-wealth school districts.

Ward called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restructure Pennsylvania's education system.

"We're going to have to put ideology to the side, our noses to the ground and just work on it," Ward said.

Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer ruled in December 2022 that the system is unconstitutional, violating the Education Clause "that all students have access to a comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education."

Jubelirer found that under the system, students in districts with low property values and low incomes are deprived of the same opportunities afforded to those living in districts with wealthier taxing bodies.

The Senate convened Tuesday under constitutional obligation to end the first year and begin the second year of the 2023-24 Legislative Session. Its members won't return for a voting session until Feb. 5 after two voting days this month were canceled.

The House is on legislative hiatus until mid-March. It also held a non-voting day on Tuesday to start the new year.