Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi made his way to Centre County on Wednesday, taking time to listen to the concerns of community members. The event, held at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub in downtown State College, was part of Rozzi’s statewide listening tour, hoping to use the meetings to address partisan gridlock in Harrisburg.“We are here to listen,” Rozzi said. Read more
Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) is continuing to hear from people about how the chamber should operate over the next two years. Their message has been clear: the public should have a greater say in policymaking.Rozzi was elected as a compromise candidate by a House that is narrowly controlled by Republicans now, but is expected to become a Democratic majority once three special elections are held next week. It would be the party’s first in more than a decade. Read more
Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi today announced the next two stops in his statewide listening tour. The third tour stop will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the Eric J. Barron Innovation Hub, 123 S. Burrowes St. in State College. The fourth and final tour stop will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Snyder Room on the Third Floor of the Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center of Kings College, 116 N. Main St. in Wilkes-Barre. Read more
"The way I was brought up was to always do the right thing. It may not be the easy thing, and maybe, you're not going to be loved for doing the right thing, but I think it's time we try to bring Democrats and Republicans together," Rozzi said. Read more
The Berks County Democrat kicked off his cross-state “listening tour” with an evening stop at Carnegie Mellon University, a day after he adjourned the House until Feb. 27. That move, which followed weeks of uncertainty over who would control the lower chamber, effectively froze the entire General Assembly until Allegheny County voters cast ballots in three House races next month — special elections widely expected to seal a razor-thin Democratic majority. Read more
Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi today announced an agenda and registration information for the first stop of his listening tour taking place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the Simmons Auditorium at the Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business, 4765 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, 15213.Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to register for a speaking slot on the Listening Tour site. While there may be slots available the day of the event, pre-registrants will have priority. Read more
“To help us break this gridlock, I have decided to seek the counsel of those most often neglected: the people of Pennsylvania,” Rozzi said. Read more
“As a rank-and-file member of the House for 10 years, I was never involved in the behind-the-scenes politics of the General Assembly. Now, having been thrust into it over the last two weeks, I can tell you one thing: Harrisburg is broken.“During my short tenure as Speaker, I have experienced the highs of seeing former Governor Tom Wolf call the General Assembly into Special Session to pass a constitutional amendment that would provide relief to survivors of childhood sexual assault. I have also seen the lows of lawmakers using survivors of sexual assault as pawns to try to force the passage of another constitutional amendment that would make it harder for everyone to vote.“I have seen the House of Representatives unable to agree on even the most basic question of its operating rules. I have been the subject of tasteless attacks, lies, and threats. At the same time, members from both sides of the political divide have encouraged me to use my Speakership to better the institution for all Pennsylvanians. Read more
Rozzi said he hopes the members of Speaker’s Workgroup join him on the tour and that by the end of it, “we will have a clear idea on how best to heal the divides in Harrisburg." Read more
I think we just want to show that Democrats and Republicans can work together and not only find a pathway forward for the statute of limitations, but what can we do together? What other legislation can we pass that we can come to a compromise on?” Rozzi said. Read more
HARRISBURG, Jan. 13 – Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi issued the following statement upon the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirming Tuesday, Feb. 7 as the date for the 3 currently vacant Allegheny County House seats: “Today’s Commonwealth Court ruling is a victory for democracy. As my first official act as Speaker of the House of Representatives, I immediately reaffirmed the Writs of Election scheduling the special elections for February 7 to ensure all voters in the commonwealth had representation without unnecessary delay or confusion. There is no reason to delay these special elections other than partisan politics, and that should never take precedence over the enfranchisement of over the 120,000 Pennsylvanians who reside in the 34 th and 35 th legislative districts.” Read more
I am pleased to announce the formation of the Speaker’s Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward. The workgroup is charged with breaking the partisan gridlock and proposing a path forward for the House of Representatives to finally provide justice to survivors of childhood sexual abuse. As promised, the workgroup will consist of six members: three members from the Republican Caucus and three members from the Democratic Caucus. Each member represents varying interests and regions in the Commonwealth and has shown a commitment to principle over politics. While the workgroup does not include any members of caucus leadership, it is my hope that caucus leadership will continue their negotiations while this workgroup carries out its charge. Read more
READING, Jan. 11 – State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, today announced that five community organization within his district have been awarded a total of $2.69 million in grants to go toward violence prevention initiatives. Funding has been awarded as follows: Berks Community Action Program Inc. : $800,000 Center for Children’s Law and Policy : $830,600 Olivet Boys & Girls Club of Reading & Berks County : $607,267 Reading Hospital : $193,078 The Salvation Army – Reading : $261,676 “Unfortunately, Reading has been no exception to Pennsylvania’s gun violence epidemic, and patterns will repeat unless effective intervention measures are taken,” Rozzi said. “These grants will help ensure that we can support gun violence victims and survivors while simultaneously curbing community violence at its source.” The funding comes from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Violence Intervention and Prevention program. The award may be used for efforts toward reducing community violence, such as street outreach, Safe Corridors/Safe Passages programs – which prevent incidents to/from school and other community centers, trauma-informed support to victims and survivors of gun violence, youth activities, and mentorship programs. “Olivet Boys & Girls Club is incredibly excited for this grant from PCCD to implement the ‘Safe Haven Project’ to expand and enhance Read more
Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi issued the following statement on the special session to provide justice to survivors of childhood sexual abuse:Despite working all day to reach an agreement to move this Special Session forward and to pass a constitutional amendment that survivors of childhood sexual abuse so desperately need and deserve, it has become apparent that the Democratic and Republican Caucuses are too far apart to proceed.This sort of partisan divide is what has plagued Pennsylvanian politics for far too long. Read more
Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi issued the following statement upon Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement of a special session to provide justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse:Today, Governor Tom Wolf issued a proclamation ordering a special session of the General Assembly to consider a constitutional amendment providing for relief to survivors of childhood sexual abuse. For that, and on behalf of victims throughout the Commonwealth, I say to Governor Wolf: thank you. Read more
HARRISBURG, Jan. 3 – State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, today was elected by his peers as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. After taking the oath of office in the state Capitol this afternoon to commence his sixth term, Rozzi was then elected speaker by a vote of 115 to 85. “I’m proud to say that I’ve served the residents of the 126th Legislative District for the last decade, and I’m humbled to now serve every Pennsylvanian,” Rozzi said. “As speaker, my goal is to remain nonpartisan in order to deliver a sense of unity within the legislature. It’s past time that we work together and restore trust in the people’s House.” Rozzi pledged to caucus with neither Democrats nor Republicans. He affirmed that while at the rostrum, typical politics and the division they subsequently create will have no place in the House chamber. “Sometimes Republicans will win, and sometimes Democrats will win, and that is fine, so long as the beneficiaries are the people of this commonwealth,” he said. Rozzi, most notably known for his work protecting children through abolishing Pennsylvania’s criminal statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse , said that his top priority as speaker is to put people over politics and eradicate instances of hyper partisanship. Photos of Rozzi at today’s swearing-in are available on his website: Read more
HARRISBURG, Dec. 15 – State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, today announced state grant funding that will help local law enforcement keep the communities they serve safe. The grants were approved Wednesday by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency as part of a new Local Law Enforcement Support Grant Program . “This funding will put greater crimefighting and community support tools directly where our law enforcement officials tell us it is needed most,” Rozzi said. “I am delighted to see these grants coming to Berks County and will continue working with our local departments to secure even more funding to keep law enforcement working effectively and our communities safe.” Local law enforcement grants awarded include: $153,250 to Central Berks Regional Police Department to upgrade its current record management system to transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System and upgrade its in-house server. $427,462 to Muhlenberg Township for in-car camera systems, license plate readers, and body-worn cameras with peripheral support equipment. $2 million to Reading City for portable tablet computers for patrol, investigations and services division personnel; recruitment funding; pole cameras; and training (use of force, implicit bias, de-escalation). $153,988 to West Reading Borough for NIBRS-compliant records management system software, backup system, server, in-car cameras, laptop, desktops, license plate reader, Read more
READING, Dec. 9 – State Rep. Mark Rozzi’s annual Christmas Gift Giving event concluded this week with more than 100 local families adopted for the holiday season. Rozzi’s office holds this donation drive every year, where participants choose to support a local family in need. Sponsors buy items on the family’s wish list, wrap and label the presents so that they are ready to be put under the tree by Christmas morning. The presents are currently filling up Rozzi’s district office, located at 4933 Kutztown Road in Temple. Media are invited to visit, take photos and ask any questions about the program. “This year, I’m proud to say that we were able to provide gifts for 114 families, amounting to a total of 312 children,” Rozzi said. “I cannot thank the generous participants enough. Ensuring that every local kid has a gift to unwrap this holiday season will help make their day special.” Rozzi’s office receives hundreds of detailed wish lists from local families, schools and nonprofits every year. Rozzi and his staff coordinate connecting families with sponsors to obtain all the specific items on their lists, creating happy holidays for all throughout the 126th Legislative District. “Times are tough for so many people, and the holidays can exacerbate financial struggles. My office is happy to help relieve this pressure for families in need and replace financial worries with happy memories, Read more
We need to establish stronger incentives to keep quality teachers in Pennsylvania. Two bills in the House can achieve this goal and together create the educator accelerator that we need. Read more
"We're talking about a lot of money that could go to PennDOT that could be used to fix the roads, to fix infrastructure. We're talking millions of dollars left unpaid," said Rep. Rozzi. Read more
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