A report from the Associated Press through the Altoona Mirror indicates that Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi said that now is the time to get the house in order, despite 3 vacant seats that need to be filled. Rozzi says he has commissioned a bipartisan group of lawmakers to get together to set house rules for the new session of the legislature. No rules have been adopted, or any committees have been formed since he took office two weeks ago. Rozzi says he will work as an independent, though he is a democrat, and vowed to change his affiliation, but has not done so. Because of those 3 vacant seats, Republicans now have a 101-99 majority in the house. Elections for those 3 seats are scheduled to be held February 7th, and all are located in Allegheny County.
