A legislative push focused on delivering legal relief for survivors of childhood sexual abuse in Pennsylvania has stalled in Harrisburg. 

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf called a special session on the subject this week, urging lawmakers to pass a related constitutional amendment that leaders of both major parties have said has their support. 

But Democratic and Republican leaders in the state House failed to establish ground rules needed before legislation can advance there, and members were sent home Monday without taking a single vote.

Meanwhile, the state Senate, where ground rules are in place, did not take up the abuse amendment. Instead, GOP lawmakers in the majority advanced amendments that would expand voter ID rules, mandate election audits, and make it easier for lawmakers to override the governor's regulations.

Read Spotlight PA's full report: Pa. House at a standstill as deadline nears to get relief for child sex abuse survivors on May ballot.

THE CONTEXT: Proposed amendments to the state constitution must pass the legislature in two consecutive sessions before going to voters for consideration. This abuse amendment came close once before, but a Wolf administration blunder forced a reset.

If lawmakers don't pass the measure soon, it won’t appear on the May ballot and will have to wait until at least November. 

House Speaker Mark Rozzi (D., Berks), who was abused by a priest as a child, has stressed it as a top priority. But he finds himself at the center of a partisan struggle that has left the lower chamber at a standstill.

Wolf on Tuesday chided both chambers for "political games and partisanship" he says have taken "precedence over justice for survivors."

"I didn’t know what I was stepping into. There are some challenges."

—Braedon Reid, an 18-year-old who was hired to work in Snyder County's prison as officials look to teens to bolster staffing and fill vacancies

Migrating snow geese at Lancaster County's Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. Photo via Elliott C. Send us your Pennsylvania pictures by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania.

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