PITTSBURGH — The Pennsylvania House is once again gridlocked.
>>> Innamorato resigns from state House of Representatives
Democrats no longer have a one-seat lead after Representative Sara Innamorato resigned her seat on Wednesday to focus on running for Allegheny County Executive.
In a statement, Innamorato said, “It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve as your Representative for the 21st Legislative District. Throughout my time as a Representative, my constituents’ stories inspired and drove my legislative priorities around creating safe and healthy communities where we can all thrive. Together, we’ve done amazing things to improve our region, and I am excited to continue serving our neighbors for years to come.”
The State House now returns to a 101-101 Democrat-to-Republican deadlock.
“There’s no true change in what will take place in terms of legislation. The Democrats still maintain control because in order to change that you actually need a majority of members in order to do so,” explained Butler County Republican State Rep. Aaron Bernstine. “The Democrats have done this in a strategic manner to ensure that Republicans will not have control of the voting schedule.”
Innamorato’s vacant House seat will be filled during a special election scheduled for September 19, the fourth special election in Allegheny County this year.
“We are not due back into Harrisburg before that, so there should be minimal disruption to our calendar for the rest of the year because her vacancy will be filled before we’re due back in Harrisburg for the next day of session at the end of September,” said State Rep. Nick Pisciottano, the Chair of the Allegheny County Democratic Delegation.
Innamorato’s resignation comes amid Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget stalemate.
But experts say it’s unlikely her stepping down will have a major impact on that impasse.
“The Republicans control the Senate, the Democrats did control the House, and so you have to have some sort of bipartisan solution to the budget anyway,” explained Chris Bonneau, a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
House Democrats support the move by Innamorato saying it will allow her to dedicate her time to campaigning as the Democratic nominee for Allegheny County Executive and get her replacement in the House seated sooner rather than later.
“She’ll be able to devote her time fully to Allegheny County for the next few months, rather than having juggle the responsibilities of Harrisburg and running a campaign back here in Allegheny,” said Pisciottano.
Prior to the September 19 special election, the Allegheny County Democratic and Republican parties will each nominate a candidate.
Democrats plan to do that on July 29.
Republicans have not yet announced their plans.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW