Bill to shrink the size of state legislature heads to floor

Posted by Press Release on January 25, 2012

A bill to reduce the size of the Pennsylvania House of
Representatives to 153 members, from the current 203 members, heads to the
House floor, Speaker of the House Sam Smith (R-Jefferson/Armstrong/Indiana) announced
after the bill passed out of committee.

The bill, House Bill 153, authored by Smith, passed the
House State Government Committee by a vote of 18-6.

“There is nothing magical about the number 203, in fact, it
came about by accident, yet reports and studies have indicated that groups more
than 150 tend to be less efficient,” Smith said. “Reaching a consensus with 203
people on major and controversial issues has proven more difficult in recent
times.”

With 203 members, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
is the second largest in the country.

“In order to right-size Pennsylvania’s government, the
Legislature needs to put its own house in order,” Smith said. “Today’s
committee vote positions the bill for consideration by the full House in the
next several weeks.”

To change 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.