With the failure of Pennsylvania House caucuses to agree upon the rules that would govern a special session, House Speaker Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) has named a bipartisan panel of six representatives to figure a way forward.

Rozzi tapped Republicans Paul Schemel (R-Franklin), Jason Ortitay (R-Allegheny) and Valerie Gaydos (R-Allegheny), along with Democrats Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia), Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh) and Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery) to the working group to break the impasse.

“I am pleased to announce the formation of the Speaker’s Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward,” said Rozzi in a statement. “The workgroup is charged with breaking the partisan gridlock and proposing a path forward for the House of Representatives to finally provide justice to survivors of childhood sexual abuse.”

Outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf called for the special session to vote on a constitutional amendment to give adult abuse survivors a window to sue their attackers. The session deals with just the one issue and the House cannot move forward on other legislation until completion.

One problem – the clock is ticking.

The vote must take place by January 27 for the Department of State to properly advertise the proposed amendment in early February. State statute says proposed constitutional amendments must be advertised no later than three months prior to an election – the next in the Commonwealth which will take place on May 16, 2023. An error by the department in 2021 after the General Assembly had twice approved the survivors’ amendment set the process back to square one to the frustration of abuse survivors across the state.

The working group will meet to organize on Tuesday – the same day that Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro and Lt. Governor-Elect Austin Davis will be sworn in to their new positions.

“Make no mistake – we must pass Statute of Limitations reform,” said Rozzi earlier in the week.

“But we also must fix the workings of our government and find a way to move forward as Pennsylvanians for the betterment of Pennsylvania. History will not judge us based on how many Democratic Party wins or Republican Party wins we achieve, but we will be judged based on what we did for the children of this Commonwealth.”

The Speaker has been under fire since his election to the post on January 3. He promised in a post-election speech to end back-room deals and increase transparency in Harrisburg.

Rozzi hasn’t spoken publicly since that date, has not answered reporters’ questions via phone, text or in person, and his staff has followed his lead.

“The House Democratic Caucus is hopeful that these discussions will yield the outcome necessary so that members will soon be able to return to the special session to finally provide survivors of childhood sexual abuse with a path toward justice,” said Nicole Reigelman, press secretary to House Democratic Leader Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia).

The amendment would create a two-year exception to the statute of limitations for survivors whose claims are too old to bring to court under existing law. A push for the amendment began 17 years ago after grand jury investigations uncovered widespread abuse and systematic coverups by the Catholic church.

Republicans have stated that the special session is unnecessary, noting that the survivors’ amendment should not take precedence over GOP-backed amendments on voter identification, election audits and legislative review of regulations.

“It is our hope that we can proceed the way we should have from the beginning: in regular session, with rules that receive engagement from both caucuses, and with the well-being of the people of Pennsylvania—and not individual interests—as our first priority,” said GOP leadership in a statement.

The Republican-controlled state Senate approved the survivors’ amendment on Wednesday as part of a package that includes the voter ID, election audit, and regulatory review amendments.

“This is an important issue, but it is not the only issue,” Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) said of the two-year window. “And we have the opportunity now to resolve the significant matter of statute of limitations.”

On Wednesday, Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) said during an interview on a conservative radio show that Senate Republicans will “be the firewall for Pennsylvania” to block the statute of limitations proposal if the voter identification and regulatory amendments do not move forward.

“We do have serious plans,” Mastriano said. “People might not like the approach, but we do have serious plans on moving forward legislation in some capacity.”