Rep. Mark Rozzi isn’t off to a flying start as speaker of the state House of Representatives.

Rep. Jim Gregory, R-Blair, is openly criticizing Rozzi for not changing party registration as Gregory feels was promised before he voted for Rozzi to be the next House speaker. Then, after Rozzi took a hard line on legislation to pass a two-year window for letting some victims of child sexual abuse file otherwise outdated lawsuits, Republicans called Rozzi’s bluff and refused to pass the legislation. That led Rozzi to call for a working group of three Republicans and three Democrats to find common ground on the statute of limitations reform and a way forward in a divided House of Representatives.

Now, one has to wonder if anything happens in the House of Representatives until a special election is held that will finally decide control of the House and the tenor for the rest of the session. Elections have to be held in three districts with vacant, but Democratic-leaning, seats in the House. Right now, Republicans have a 101-99 advantage of sitting members of the House, though Democrats claim to have an advantage when counting the three vacant Democratic-leaning seats. Of course there is a fight over when the special elections will be held, with the issue still being decided in the courts.

Rozzi was quoted by the Associated Press on Monday saying “statute of limitations reform” was his objective with the special session, “but we also must fix the workings of our government and find a way to move forward as Pennsylvanians for the betterment of Pennsylvania.”

Good luck, Mr. Speaker. You’re going to need it.