Bill to Shrink the Size of Legislature Passes Out of Committee; Reed Schedules Floor Vote
House State Government Committee gives go-ahead to House Bill 153
HARRISBURG – Bills to reduce the size of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to 151 members, from the current 203 members, and the Senate to 38 members, from its current 50, now heads to the House floor, Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) said today after the bill passed out of committee.
The bills, House Bill 153 dealing with House and House Bill 253 to reduce the Senate, passed out of the House State Government Committee today by votes of 14-10.
“Since 2012, I have voted to shrink the size of the legislature and continue our work to right-size Pennsylvania’s government as folks tell us they want,” Reed said. “Using today’s communications tools, we can ensure everyone across the state has a strong voice in the House.”
With 203 members, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the second largest in the country.
According to Reed, today’s committee votes position the bills to be scheduled for consideration by the full House in the next several weeks.
Changing the size of the legislature requires an amendment to the state Constitution, which means the same bill must be debated and passed in two consecutive sessions, and subsequently approved by referendum vote of the people of Pennsylvania. The language in House Bill 153 was approved by both chambers of the General Assembly last session. If it is approved again this year before July, it could be on the General Election ballot this November. House Bill 253 has not previously passed the House or Senate.
SOURCE: Representative Dave Reed, Majority Leader
