With his “listening tour” now in the rearview mirror, Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) has called for the chamber to reconvene on Tuesday, February 21.

The first order of business, according to Rozzi, will be to vote on the operating rules for the 2023-24 session and a proposal to give child sex abuse victims a legal window to sue their abusers.

The 203-seat chamber has been in gridlock since January 3, following Rozzi’s election to the post. The Democrat convened a six-member workgroup – three Republicans and three Democrats – to work possible solutions to the rules impasse, while also listening to the concerns of citizens in a series of four public meetings around the Commonwealth over two weeks.

Rozzi posted a video message to YouTube and Twitter and said that he will “keep his promise to survivors of childhood sexual assault and bring up a constitutional amendment and a statutory bill, both which will provide a window to justice and desperately needed relief to victims.”

He wants to put the constitutional amendment before voters to “enshrine these protections” in the Pennsylvania constitution. And by passing the two-year window for survivors to file retroactive civil lawsuits via statute, he hopes to have the legislation signed into law as early as the beginning of March.

“I strongly urge the Senate to stand up for survivors, stop protecting abusers, and quickly pass both pieces of legislation when they return to session on February 27,” he added.

The Republican-majority state Senate approved a package of three constitutional amendments last month, including a measure to create universal voter ID requirements during elections.

This occurred in opposition to Rozzi’s pledge not to consider any other legislation in the House before the statute of limitations reform has passed.

“My fellow Pennsylvanians, the time for justice is now,” said the Speaker. “We must do what we know to be right. History will judge us based on what we did to protect some of our most vulnerable citizens, our children.”