2026 Pennsylvania legislative session

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2026 Pennsylvania legislative session
General information
Scheduled session start:    Jan. 6, 2026 Scheduled session end:    Nov. 30, 3026
Leadership
Senate President Austin Davis (D) House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D) Majority Leader Senate: Joe Pittman (R) House: Matthew Bradford (D) Minority Leader Senate: Jay Costa (D) House: Jesse Topper (R)
Elections
Next Election:    November 3, 2026 Last Election:    November 5, 2024
Previous legislative sessions
2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2026 legislative sessions
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In 2026, the Pennsylvania State Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 6, 2026, and adjourn on November 30, 3026.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2024 elections. Republicans won a 28-22 majority in the Senate and Democrats won a 102-101 majority in the House. The Democratic Party controlled the governorship, creating a divided state government. At the start of the 2026 session, Pennsylvania was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session:

Democrats held a majority in the Pennsylvania state House and Republicans held a majority in the Pennsylvania state Senate.

Pennsylvania was one of 11 divided state governments.

Pennsylvania's governor was Democrat Josh Shapiro.

Leadership in 2026

See also: Leadership positions in state legislatures

Pennsylvania State Senate

• Senate president: Austin Davis (D)
• Majority leader: Joe Pittman (R)
• Minority leader: Jay Costa (D)

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House: Joanna McClinton (D)
• Majority leader: Matthew Bradford (D)
• Minority leader: Jesse Topper (R)

Partisan control in 2026

See also: State government trifectas

Pennsylvania was one of 11 divided state governments at the start of 2026 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

Pennsylvania was also one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Pennsylvania State Legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

Pennsylvania State Senate

Partisan composition, Pennsylvania State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	23
Republican	27
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	50

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Partisan composition, Pennsylvania House of Representatives

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	100
Republican	99
Other	0
Vacancies	4
Total	203

Regular session

The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2026 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation has met these criteria yet in 2026. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

Standing legislative committees

See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Pennsylvania state government

A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

At the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, there were 51 standing committees in Pennsylvania's state government, including one joint legislative committees, 23 state Senate committees, and 27 state House committees.

Joint legislative committees

• Capitol Preservation Committee

Senate committees

• Aging & Youth Committee
• Banking & Insurance Committee
• Communications & Technology Committee
• Community, Economic & Recreational Development Committee
• Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee
• Health & Human Services Committee
• Institutional Sustainability & Innovation Committee
• Intergovernmental Operations Committee
• Law & Justice Committee
• Rules & Executive Nominations Committee
• Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Education Committee
• Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• Senate Game & Fisheries Committee
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senate Labor & Industry Committee
• Senate Local Government Committee
• Senate State Government Committee
• Senate Transportation Committee
• Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
• Urban Affairs & Housing Committee

House committees

• Aging & Older Adult Services Committee
• Children & Youth Committee
• Commerce Committee
• Committee On Committees
• Committee On Ethics
• Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee
• Gaming Oversight Committee
• Government Oversight Committee
• Health Committee
• House Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee
• House Appropriations Committee
• House Education Committee
• House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee
• House Finance Committee
• House Game & Fisheries Committee
• House Judiciary Committee
• House Labor & Industry Committee
• House Local Government Committee
• House State Government Committee
• House Transportation Committee
• House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee
• Human Services Committee
• Insurance Committee
• Liquor Control Committee
• Professional Licensure Committee
• Rules Committee
• Tourism & Recreational Development Committee

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Pennsylvania Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XI of the Pennsylvania Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Constitution provides for one mechanism for amending the state's constitution—a legislative process. However, the state constitution does not mention a constitutional convention process, and the legislature has called constitutional conventions in the past. Pennsylvania requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Initiative

See also: Initiated constitutional amendment

In Pennsylvania, citizens do not have the power to initiate ballot measures at the state level.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According to Article XI, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Pennsylvania State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 102 votes in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Pennsylvania State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

When the Legislature finds that a "major emergency threatens or is about to threaten the Commonwealth," a constitutional amendment can be referred to the ballot with a two-thirds vote during one legislative session.

Historical partisan control

The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Party Control: 1992-2026
One year of a Democratic trifecta  •  Twelve years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D

Historical Senate control

Republicans won control of the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1994. In 2024, they won a 28-22 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Pennsylvania Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Pennsylvania State Senate election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	25	21	20	20	20	21	20	21	20	20	23	20	16	21	21	22	22
Republicans	25	29	30	30	30	29	30	29	29	30	27	30	34	29	29	28	28

Historical House control

Democrats won a 102-101 majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2022, gaining control of the chamber for the first time since 2008. In 2024, Democrats maintained a 102-101 majority.

The table below shows the partisan history of the Pennsylvania House following every general election from 1992 to 2024. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives election results: 1992-2024

Year	'92	'94	'96	'98	'00	'02	'04	'06	'08	'10	'12	'14	'16	'18	'20	'22	'24
Democrats	105	101	99	100	99	94	93	102	104	91	93	84	82	93	92	102	102
Republicans	98	102	104	103	104	109	110	101	99	112	110	119	121	110	111	101	101

Analysis

Adopted legislation, 2011-2024

See also: The State Legislative Decade - Pennsylvania

In 2024, Ballotpedia released analysis of bills enacted in each state in the preceding decade. The charts and table below detail legislation passed each year by party sponsorship.

See also

Elections	Pennsylvania State Government	State Legislatures	State Politics
Pennsylvania State Senate elections, 2026 Pennsylvania House of Representatives elections, 2026	Pennsylvania State Legislature Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania State Senate Governor of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Supreme Court	State legislative elections, 2026 State legislative special elections, 2026 State legislative elections, 2024 State legislative elections, 2022	State government trifectas State government triplexes Veto overrides in state legislatures State executives State courts Ballot measures

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Pennsylvania General Assembly homepage

Footnotes

State legislatures

Legislatures

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2026

State legislative elections (2026) • State legislative special elections (2026) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2026 Session Dates

2025

State legislative elections (2025) • State legislative special elections (2025) • Primary dates and filing requirements • 2025 Session Dates

Historical elections

2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000

Features of state legislatures

How vacancies are filled in state legislatures • States with a full-time legislature • State legislatures with term limits • Comparison of state legislative salaries • When state legislators assume office after a general election • Population represented by state legislators • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures • State legislative sessions • Resign-to-run law • State legislature candidate requirements by state • Official names of state legislatures • State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts • Factors Affecting Competitiveness in State Legislative Elections

State senates

Length of terms of state senators • State senators • Partisan composition of state senates • State senators sorted by year first elected

State houses

Length of terms of state representatives • State representatives • Partisan composition of state houses • State representatives sorted by year first elected

Leadership positions

President of the Senate • President Pro Tempore • Senate Majority Leader • Senate Minority Leader • House Majority Leader • House Minority Leader • State Speaker of the House

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