Public meetings and rallies are often held on the state Capitol building’s front steps, offering a memorable view of the building’s Beaux-Arts architecture and providing a convenient location for most lawmakers to reach between meetings.
Eight public events occurred there in the first week of June, including a news conference about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and a memorial vigil for a Bhutanese scholar.
Attending such events is nearly impossible for state Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia — the only state legislator out of 253 to use a wheelchair.
“A lot of the folks do press conferences on the steps, and it’s a beautiful backdrop,” Tartaglione said. “But I can’t get to them.”
The Department of General Services confirmed via email that an executive order signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in May required the department to undertake an accessibility study of the Capitol complex. The scope of the study and the selection of the professionals carrying it out have been solidified.
The study will begin this month and is expected to conclude by July 2025.
Although Tartaglione said it took electing a senator who uses a wheelchair to prioritize accessibility, she said the Senate has made a strong effort to implement helpful accommodations.
When Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, is absent from session, Tartaglione, the Democratic whip, often serves in his place as minority leader. Being in a wheelchair, she cannot see over the podium or reach the microphone in those instances, so she is instead provided a short podium and microphone.
The Capitol Preservation Committee was determined to preserve the original desk from 1906 in her office but it was too short for her to wheel under. General Services altered it to be slightly taller and did the same to her desk on the Senate floor.
When Tartaglione attends Senate hearings, staff remove a chair to make room for her wheelchair and add temporary ramps to allow her entry.
While heavy doors are a lingering issue, the women’s restroom on the Senate side now has low handles, easing access.
“They really have tried to accommodate me,” Tartaglione said.
Some spaces remain inaccessible, such as the balconies in front of the Capitol. When legislators gathered to watch the lunar eclipse in April, the senator had to be carried in her wheelchair down several steps to reach the space.
Tartaglione described the House’s chamber as “totally inaccessible.”
There are no accessible parking spaces in the legislators’ lot in front of the Capitol, or in the parking garage underneath. No parking space in the garage provides a driver with enough room between two vehicles to extend wheelchair ramps — a fact that prevents Tartaglione from driving to work herself.
“You have to have some independence,” Tartaglione said. “You know?”
Sarah Nicell is a 2024 graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and reported this story as part of an internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association.
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