WEEKLYPRESS.COM ·
UCREVIEW.COM · NOVEMBER 02 · 2011
11
Lawmaker looks to smaller state House to reduce costs Opponents say shrinking the Legislature would hurt constituent services
By Caleb Taylor PA Independent
H
ARRISBURG — More than 100 years later, lawmakers still
say they want to protect taxpayers. In 1874, they dou- bled the size of the General As- sembly with that goal in mind. But in 2011, H o u s e S p e a k e r Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, is pushing legi s lat ion that would shrink the state House. His House Bill 153 that would reduce the lower chamber from 203 members to 153 was discussed Wednesday during a House State Gov- ernment Committee meet- ing. The proposal would not affect the state Senate, but if it passes the House, the Sen- ate could amend the bill to change its size as well. Supporters say the reduced size of the state House would lower costs, but opponents say lawmakers’ ability to help constituents would de- crease with larger districts. Tim Potts, executive direc- tor of Democracy Rising PA, a nonprofit calling for more transparent government, said the reasoning behind doubling the size of the General Assembly in 1874 was to have “a large enough Legislature” where “there wouldn’t be enough money to buy enough votes.” But, he said, that didn’t work out, because more than a century later, lobbyists and special interests remain an integral part of the political process through their finan- cial and ideological influ- ence.
And now, lawmakers back- ing the plan to shrink the state House
Each state representative represents about 62,000 of
the “If the Legislature
were more frugal, people wouldn’t be so concerned about changing its size.”
say it is about cost.
Pennsylvania has the largest full-time state Legislature in the United States. The aver- age base salary for Pennsyl- vania legislators is $78,314, according to the most recent data in a 2010 report by the Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank that advocates for economically conservative policies. However, Potts said calls for change have more to do with the Legislature’s expenses than the number of lawmak- ers. “If the Legislature were more frugal, people wouldn’t be so concerned about chang- ing its size,” said Potts. State Rep. Tim Briggs, D- Montgomery, said he is a “strong advocate for … cost savings and more efficien- cies” within the Legislature, but has concerns about con- stituent services suffering if the state House shrinks.
state’s 12.7
million people. If the num- ber of districts was reduced
to 153, each representative would have 83,000 constitu- ents. “I think the larger the district, the less personal interaction you would have with peo- ple,” said Briggs. But state Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford said constitu- ent services would not be hindered because of m o d e r n technolo- gy, includ- ing email, social net- works and texting. “If we had fewer legis- lators and … larger areas to serve, I don’t think
our service to our constituents would go down. Compared to a hun-
dred years ago when people traveled around in horses and buggies, we can cover a lot more territory,” said Roae.
Leo Knepper, executive di- rector of the Citizens Alli- ance of Pennsylvania, an in- dependent nonprofit group that advocates for conserva- tive policies, said his orga- nization is opposed to the measure, because it “con- centrates power into fewer hands,” and members of the Legislature are not “major costs.” “We’d prefer to see the Leg- islature become part time like … Texas,” said Knepper. The Texas Legislature meets once every two years for up to 140 days. Smith’s proposal would re-
quire a constitutional amend- ment, and would not go into effect until the 2020 redis- tricting
process.Pennsylva- nia Independent is a public interest journalism project dedicated to promoting open, transparent, and account- able state government by reporting on the activities of agencies, bureaucracies, and politicians in the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania. 225 State Street, Suite 300 | Har- risburg, PA 17101 | Phone 717.350.0963 | Email tips@
PAindependent.com
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