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PA Senate Implements Seven Reform
Measures The Pennsylvania Senate today opened the 2007-2008 legislative session by swearing in 15 Republican members, electing a new Senate President Pro Tempore, and adopting seven reform proposals designed to make the Senate process more open to the public. In November elections, voters retained the 29-21 Senate Republican majority. During floor remarks after his election to President Pro Tem, Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) said the rules changes passed today were developed with bipartisan input and are the first step in a push for greater transparency in the Senate. "This package is a result of a lot of bipartisan hard work where the thoughts of members, media, and most of all our constituents were taken into consideration," Scarnati said. "All branches of government must have the courage and willingness to make the changes necessary for a more effective, more efficient, more accountable government." Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) called the rules changes "profound" and said they represent bipartisan, good government and will enable people to more easily track legislative actions and to determine how their Senator is representing them. "In a time when the most pressing public concern is governmental reform, we will be judged by what we do to advance such reforms," Pileggi said. "These rules changes are a constructive start that will have productive results, in legislation that is better crafted, better understood, and better received by Pennsylvanians." Under the new rules:
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