It’s Friday the 13th. Could be a lucky day if you win the $1.35B Mega Millions jackpot.

PA Weather
Cranberry Twp | Cloudy, 32
Lebanon | Mostly Cloudy, temps falling to 41
Horsham | Cloudy, temps falling to 43

PA Sports
Penguins (20-13-6) | FRI vs. Winnipeg
Flyers (17-18-7) | Washington, W 5-3 | SAT vs. Washington
76ers (25-16) | Oklahoma City, L, 133-114 | SAT vs. Utah

What We’re Hearing
“This legislative session could be a complete wash. What are the chances that anything really substantive gets done? They don’t look good right now.”

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (Sat.). Someone with an upcoming birthday who deserves a shoutout? Let us know.

Visit us online at PoliticsPA.com Are you getting this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up for free and get your own subscription emailed to you every weekday morning. Join the PoliticsPA community.

Top Story

1. PA Legislators Cut A Deal Built On Friendship. Will The Bond Survive?

“When Republican state legislator Jim Gregory nominated his Democratic friend and colleague Mark Rozzi to be speaker of the Pennsylvania House last week, the move stunned close political observers and seemed to offer new hope for bipartisanship.

Then the bottom fell out. On Monday, Gregory called on Rozzi to resign in an emotional letter accusing him of failing to keep his promise to change his party affiliation to independent and be an impartial arbiter of House business. “The bonds of trust between friends — as close and you and I have been — are now broken,” Gregory wrote.” (Washington Post)

Related

PA Still Hasn’t Heard From House Speaker Mark Rozzi After His Surprise Election, And It’s Been Over A Week. “Pennsylvania’s new House speaker, Mark Rozzi, promised to end all back-room deals and increase transparency in Harrisburg. He did this just after cutting a secretive deal with Republican leaders to become the top member of the state House. Then he walked out of the chamber and shut the door, closing off any contact with lawmakers, reporters and the public.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Rozzi Names Panel To Break Impasse Over Vote On Sexual Abuse Survivors Amendment. “Pennsylvania House Speaker Mark Rozzi, D-Berks, has named a bipartisan panel of six state representatives charged with hashing out a compromise that would allow the House to move toward a vote on legal relief for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.” (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

• Rozzi Assigns Committee To End Stalemate In PA House. (New Castle News)

How A Constitutional Amendment Gets On The Ballot In PA. “In 2020, Pennsylvania Republicans grew deeply frustrated with the normal legislative process. They moved the bills through committees, voted on them, and sent them to Wolf, who responded with vetoes. Their solution? Constitutional amendments.” (PennLive)

Harrisburg

2. Shapiro Taps Siger, Carroll, Hammer And Browne For Cabinet Posts

“The Cabinet door remains open for appointments and this morning Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro announced four nominations to join his team.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Ready To Be No. 48. “The Josh Shapiro Era is upon us and in a lot of very visceral ways it figures to be a lot different from the Tom Wolf Age.” (PennLive)

• 76ers, Old Forge Pizza, Pocono Raceway: Gov.-Elect Shapiro’s Favorite Things. (PennLive)

Who Shapiro Picked For His Cabinet And Senior Staff. “As Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro prepares to take office on Jan. 17, he’s assembling a cabinet and senior staff to execute his agenda. Shapiro, the state attorney general, has tapped some key personnel from the AG’s office to join him in Harrisburg.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Former Bucks County DA Poised To Be Next PA Attorney General. “A former top Bucks County prosecutor who helped convict Pennsylvania’s first female attorney general is poised to become its second female top law enforcement officer.” (Bucks County Courier Times)

Around The Commonwealth

3. The Issues That Defined Wolf’s Legacy

“Gov. Tom Wolf began and ended his eight years in the state’s top job with the same mantra: He was not a conventional politician.” (Spotlight PA)

Related

How Perry Gained The Potential Power To Influence A Federal Investigation Involving Himself. “It took 15 rounds of voting over three days – the most in 164 years – to elect Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker last week. To gain enough votes to claim victory, he made many key concessions to Republican Congressman Scott Perry and the Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus he heads.” (WITF)

Allegheny County Democrats Debate A Favorite Topic: Party Endorsement Fees. “Democracy unfolds in a series of spectacles: the campaign kick-off surrounded by enthusiastic supporters, the principled arguments on the debate stage, the tearful Election Night speech to supporters who may or may not still be enthusiastic. And then of course, there is the most cherished local tradition of all: arguing about Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement fees.” (WESA)

Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein Announces Run For County Executive. “One of Pittsburgh’s most veteran public officials announced his candidacy Thursday for Allegheny County executive, joining a large field in the Democratic primary for the region’s top elected official.” (Tribune-Review)

• Weinstein Announces Run For County Executive. (WESA)
• Who Is Running For Office In 2023? (PoliticsPA)

Court Splits On Legality Of Move To Impeach Philadelphia DA. “A split emerged Thursday among a panel of Pennsylvania state judges about whether a Republican-led effort to impeach and seek to remove Philadelphia’s progressive prosecutor meets legal standards or if it should be stopped.” (Associated Press)

2020 Lycoming Election Recount Results In Difference Of 26 Votes. “The just-completed hand recount of two Lycoming County races from the 2020 general election found that it differed from the electronic tabulation by 26 votes. There were more than 59,000 votes cast in the 2020 presidential race.” (PennLive)

• Lycoming County 2020 Recount Supports Plan Next Steps. (Williamsport Sun-Gazette)

Northampton County DA Announces Reelection Bid, Setting The Stage For Fierce Primary Race. “Terry Houck has officially announced his reelection bid for Northampton County district attorney. And as he did in winning the 2019 race, Houck will face a Democratic primary opponent, and fierce early campaigning portends a heated showdown leading up to the May 16 election.” (Morning Call)

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

A glance around the Keystone State at editorials and opinions.

• State Must Prepare To Pay Claims. (Citizens Voice)
• Pennsylvania’s Teachers Unions Care About Lining Their Pockets — Not About Teachers Or Students. (David Osborne, Broad + Liberty)
• How To Affect Real Change In PA’s Failing High Schools. (Colin McNickle, Allegheny Institute)
• On Martin Luther King Day, Write For Justice. (William Lambers, PennLive)
• The FTC’s Breathtaking Power Grab Over Noncompete Agreements. (Eugene Scalia, Wall Street Journal)
• Dear Dry January, We Need To Talk. (Naomi Ishisaka, Seattle Times)

1 Thing

5. What Is ChatGPT?

OpenAI introduced a long-form question-answering AI called ChatGPT that answers complex questions conversationally.

It’s a revolutionary technology because it’s trained to learn what humans mean when they ask a question.

What sets ChatGPT apart from a simple chatbot is that it was specifically trained to understand the human intent in a question and provide helpful, truthful, and harmless answers.

Try ChatGPT

Thanks for starting your day with us.
What did you think of today’s newsletter?
Please invite your friends to subscribe to the PoliticsPA Playbook