The idea's expected benefits include more efficient lawmaking and lower taxpayer costs, but critics say it lessens the clout of rural residents and reduces contact with constituents.
A bill that would slash the state House of Representatives’ membership from 203 to 153 is expected to go up for a vote in the coming weeks, a top lawmaker said Tuesday.
House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, said that he plans to bring the bill to a vote in the chamber in the spring. The bill cleared a first hurdle earlier in the day when the House State Government Committee voted 16-8 to begin the first step of a very long process to amend the state constitution, which is required for such a change.
Committee members debated the bill sponsored by House Speaker Sam Smith, R-Jefferson, for 90 minutes. The idea’s expected benefits include more efficient lawmaking and lower taxpayer costs, but critics say it lessens the clout of rural residents, opens more doors to influence by campaign donors and reduces contact with constituents.
Amending the Pennsylvania Constitution requires passage by the Legislature in two consecutive two-year sessions before going to the state’s voters for final approval. If the bill is successful, the changes in House districts would not happen until after the 2020 census.
The size of the Pennsylvania General Assembly has changed repeatedly over its long history, with the current complement established by the 1968 Constitutional Convention. A spokesman for Smith said the House passed a bill during the 1975-76 legislative session in an effort to reduce the number of House districts to 151, but the measure was ultimately unsuccessful.
Currently, each of the House’s 203 members represents about 63,000 people; House district populations would expand to about 80,000 under the bill.
The bill would not change the 50-member Senate.