Tom Corbett

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania General Assembly launched its new legislative session Tuesday by swearing in new and returning members and electing Republican veterans to lead each chamber.

Twenty-one freshmen Republicans and eight new Democrats were sworn in to the House, and Jefferson County Republican Sam Smith was elected speaker.

The Senate swore in 25 members, including three Democratic freshmen, and elected Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, to a third term as president pro tempore.

Neither Smith nor Scarnati was opposed.

Smith urged members to live up to the responsibilities of their office, and gave the freshman class particular advice.

“Don’t read your own news releases, keep your feet on the ground and be mindful of why you wanted to be here and why the voters elected you,” Smith said.

With both the House and Senate in GOP hands, and Republican Gov.-elect Tom Corbett preparing to be inaugurated Jan. 18, the Capitol is poised to take a rightward turn from the divided government of recent years. State government’s massive deficit will be their first challenge.

House Republicans regained the majority in the November election after two terms in the minority. The Senate has been firmly in GOP hands for many years, and its majority is currently 30-20. Each house also has a vacancy created by the death of a Democratic lawmaker.

The two chambers passed their internal operating rules for the coming two years. The Senate rules remained the same, but will probably be revised later this month. The House expanded restrictions on mass mailings before elections to include mass e-mails, imposed new ethical conduct rules regarding campaign activities and made other changes.

Corbett attended the House swearing-in session, as well as the certification of his election results during a brief House-Senate joint session afterward.

Scarnati acknowledged the challenges posed by the rising cost of highway and bridge repairs, public education and health care amid tough financial times, but said the lack of good jobs in Pennsylvania may be the most important problem. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate in November was 8.6 percent.

Solving other issues “would be much easier to solve if more families had family-sustaining jobs,” he said.

House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, kicked off the issues his party will push for, including Marcellus Shale regulations, education policy, nursing home care and mass transit.

“The people of Pennsylvania expect us to come together,” Dermody said. “We are one house with one mission, to serve the people of Pennsylvania for the benefit of the entire commonwealth.”

Dermody’s Republican counterpart, Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, told members their top priority was to attend legislative sessions, pay attention and participate in the debates.

“There’s no doubt I’m a National Review Republican,” Turzai said. “That doesn’t mean I don’t understand that we have to work with everyone across the state.”