HARRISBURG — Because Pennsylvania's constitution trumps any state holiday, the General Assembly will convene on New Year's Day.

Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be gaveled into session because of a constitutional provision that requires the chambers to meet at noon on the first Tuesday of every year. No exception is provided for years in which Jan. 1 falls on that day.

The sessions in both chambers are expected to be brief and largely devoid of substantive business, although Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, is expected to be re-elected by his colleagues for another year as Senate president pro tempore.

Attendance is expected to be sparse on the last day of the holiday season, but bills can be introduced or referred to committee during the session. Lawmakers who live more than 50 miles from the capital can file for expense payments of as much as $146 for the day if they go to Harrisburg.

About a dozen of the 50 senators are expected to participate, said Stephen MacNett, chief counsel to Senate Republicans, who has served on the legislative staff for four decades.

Bill Patton, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis O'Brien, R-Philadelphia, said he anticipates only a handful of representatives will attend.

The first sessions of odd-numbered years that follow the biennial legislative elections are as much celebratory as ceremonial, so attendance is typically unanimous — even when they fall on New Year's Day.