PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — With a Friday deadline looming, Pennsylvania lawmakers are returning to Harrisburg Thursday morning to try to reach a deal on sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder.

Members of the Pennsylvania House are expected to be back in session Thursday and will likely vote on the issue after lawmakers were previously unsure whether they would be called back to the Capitol this week.

State Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-35th District, said a bipartisan proposal could allow the House to meet the deadline. Langerholc said he and a colleague introduced Senate Bill 1400, which he said has received support from the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the attorney general and law enforcement agencies across the state. He said the bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support.

Langerholc said the House will not vote on Senate Bill 1400 itself, but could advance similar language to the governor by using a House bill that already exists.

“We then amended the language of Senate Bill 1400 into a House bill so it will be in the House and they only need to vote on concurrence. It doesn’t have to go through that process because it was already in the House and we amended that language in,” Langerholc said.

“People will see the House is coming back into session and they’re going to vote on something. It has to be a vote on that. It can go right to the governor and be signed and it will solve the issue,” he said.

The proposal sets a standard sentence of 35 years to life, with exceptions allowing as little as 10 years. Prosecutors would still be able to seek life without parole, depending on the case. Langerholc said the bill would also allow an opportunity for parole if someone has already served 35 years of a sentence or has reached age 70.

Langerholc said the legislation is aimed at avoiding mass resentencings and a surge of Post-Conviction Relief Act filings.

“That was done again with to avoid these mass resentensings because there will be a rush on filings of PCRAs, Post-Conviction Relief Act cases. This will address that to ensure that at the end of the day these violent offenders remain incarcerated and we do not re-victimize those victims that already went through that process, that already were told that person that killed your loved one will be in jail for life without parole. This is ripping that band-aid off and this is not providing the closure that they had at the time of sentence,” Langerholc said.

Concerns about mass resentencing have been raised by district attorneys and families of victims across Pennsylvania, with many district attorneys warning it could become a “free-for-all” without sentencing guidelines.

Defense attorney Thomas Dickey said Wednesday that sentencing guidelines could account for many different scenarios, and he hopes lawmakers can reach a consensus. He said if legislators fail to act and cases return to court for sentencing, judges could impose a range of sentences and lawmakers could face backlash.

“And, um, if not, and then these other, you know, if they would fail to act, um, and people would come back in front of the court for sentencing and, um, you know, some sentences, some judges believe that, you know, if someone’s going to get 10 years or 15 or 20 or whatever, um, there’s obviously, you know, there’s always going to be someone unhappy with the sentence and there’s going to be backlash and I think they’re going to point at the legislators. Some people, uh, will point to the legislators and say, um, you know, where were you, you know, you know, you know, it’s your fault. You should have done something with this. So hopefully they’ll come up with something,” Dickey said.

Langerholc said the House is scheduled to meet to vote Thursday morning at 9:30.