Both houses of the General Assembly took steps to continue their operations safely by unanimously approving resolutions allowing lawmakers to vote remotely.

On March 16, the state House of Representatives adopted rules changes that allows state representatives to communicate their votes to party whips who would then file those votes.

The new House rules shorten times for bills to come to the floor and opens the window for House members to communicate health information to constituents even though we are within 60 days of the primary election.

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said that temporary emergency rules included in Senate Resolution 318, which was passed March 18, will ensure the upper house can continue voting even when senators cannot be physically present at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg due to coronavirus mitigation efforts that are ongoing statewide.

The resolution creates a mechanism for members to file bills electronically and to participate in committee meetings and sessions through the use of communications technology. The emergency powers are scheduled to expire July 31 or 10 days following the expiration of the governor's emergency order, whichever is sooner.

In order to ensure transparency, the session was announced well in advance and streamed live for the public at www.PASenateGOP.com.

Social distancing was strongly encouraged for senators in accordance with guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.