Preserving A Small District Legislature
Cohen called reducing the size of the Pennsylvania General Assembly a "terrible idea whose time should never come" that would reduce the range of political opinion in the legislative process, make election campaigns more expensive, make legislators "more remote" from their constituents, and "less representative of the average citizen." He said the fiscal impact would be the same as closing one high school of the List of high schools in Pennsylvania. He warned his colleagues that reducing the size of the state house after the 2022 elections meant that in 2022 about half of the House members would face challenges from other House members, and that this fact would undermine colleagiality in the House until these elections took place. Others shared his concerns. Still others partially agreed with him, but still favored a smaller legislature, or favored elimination of the 50 member Pennsylvania Senate instead.
While the Pennsylvania House voted to reduce the size (and increase the number of people per district)of both the Pennsylvania House and the Pennsylvania Senate, the Pennsylvania Senate declined to follow in the remainder of the 2011-2012 legislative sessions. This forces proponents of the constitutional amendment to start over again in the 2013-2014 legislative session.
Read more about this topic: Mark B. Cohen
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