By Tracey Wakeen
After four years inside Pennsylvania’s state government, I’ve seen firsthand how the legislative process in Harrisburg often fails the very people it’s meant to serve—especially small business owners.
Despite the ideal of bipartisan collaboration, our Capitol too often runs on partisanship and political posturing. With a Democrat-controlled House and a Republican-controlled Senate, each session follows a predictable script: House Democrats advance bills—many of which would negatively impact small businesses—without serious engagement with opposing viewpoints. Hearings are held, Republican members propose amendments or raise valid concerns, and those suggestions are dismissed. The bill passes along party lines and heads to the Senate, where it stalls. Come the next session, the same bill reappears under a new number. Rinse, repeat, accomplish nothing.
This cycle isn’t just inefficient—it’s wasteful. Taxpayers fund this broken process, while small businesses are left in limbo, facing constant threats from poorly designed legislation.
As someone who regularly attends Labor and Industry Committee hearings, I’ve seen how some legislators view small business owners with open skepticism—sometimes even hostility. Entrepreneurs are too often portrayed as greedy or out of touch, rather than as vital community employers. That attitude poisons the potential for real dialogue.
Worse, many of these bills are written by lawmakers who admit they’ve never run a business. I’ve sat face-to-face with them, encouraged them to speak with small business owners, and received polite but empty promises. Meanwhile, bills with serious consequences for the business community continue to move forward with little understanding of their real-world impact.
Legislative dysfunction like this isn’t just a political problem—it’s an economic one. Pennsylvania’s small businesses are the backbone of our local economies. They deserve policies rooted in reality, not ideology.
One common-sense fix: assign lawmakers to committees based on their professional experience. The Labor and Industry Committee would benefit greatly from members who’ve actually run a business or worked in the industries they’re regulating. Expertise leads to better policy.
There are public servants in Harrisburg who care deeply and work hard to make meaningful change. But they’re often trapped in a system that discourages compromise and rewards party loyalty over practical governance. That’s not what Pennsylvanians deserve.
It’s time for a legislative culture that values collaboration, respects diverse perspectives, and prioritizes outcomes over optics. Until that happens, good ideas will keep dying in committee, and small businesses will continue to bear the cost of political dysfunction.
