More Lawmakers Asking for a Smaller State House

Pressure is building on state lawmakers to consider changes to the size of the Pennsylvania General Assembly after a Democrat joined a trio of Republicans in officially introducing legislation to reduce the number of legislators in the state. 

State Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks, recently announced legislation to cut 83 seats from the state House and 10 seats from the state Senate, resulting in 121 state House districts and 40 state Senate districts. 

The state House now has 203 members and the state Senate has 50. 

The newest proposal would reduce the ratio of Senate members to House members from 4-to-1 to 3-to-1. It also would give each member of the General Assembly a larger district, both in terms of geography and population. 

Each House district now includes about 62,000 residents, while Senate districts include about 250,000 residents. Under Schwank’s proposal, there would be 104,000 residents in each House district and 315,000 in each senatorial district. 

Schwank said modern technology made it acceptable to have larger districts. 

“Modern technology allows people to remain in constant, even immediate contact with their legislators, and our legislative framework should reflect the fact that we don’t stay in touch by telegraph and horse buggies anymore,” Schwank said in a statement. 

Her proposal is the fourth such plan to be introduced this legislative session, but is the first to come from a Democrat. State Sens. John Pippy, R-Philadelphia, and Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill, and Speaker of the House Samuel Smith, R-Jefferson, also have introduced legislation to reduce the size of one or both chambers of the General Assembly. 

In Pippy’s plan, the Senate would be cut to 40 members and the state House would trimmed to 161 members. 

In the Argall plan, the state House would be reduced by 50 seats gradually between 2013 and 2053. The House would lose 10 seats every 10 years, to correspond with the redistricting process. The state Senate eventually would be reduced from 50 seats to 45 seats. 

Smith’s plan would reduce the state House to 153 members, but would not change the number of seats in the state Senate. 

Steve Miskin, a spokesman for Smith, said the proposal had nothing to do with potential cost-savings, but was intended to create a more efficient legislative body. He said Smith did not want to tell the Senate what to do, but would be willing to consider proposals to shrink the upper chamber as well. 

Tim Potts, executive director of Democracy Rising PA, a citizen’s advocacy group that has been calling for a constitutional convention to examine several parts of the state’s founding document, said the variety of plans to shrink the Legislature were little more than “grandstanding” on the part of lawmakers. 

“They are trying to look like they are doing something without actually doing it,” Potts said. “They shouldn’t even be the ones making the decision.”

The National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization, said 34 states have adjusted the size of their legislatures at least once since 1960. Pennsylvania set the current levels of representation in 1966, reducing from 209 members in the state House to 203.

A study conducted by the University of Minnesota found that a smaller legislature did not decrease the number of bills introduce or the competitiveness of legislative elections. However, the study indicated a smaller legislature would give the leadership of the majority party more authority. 

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, chairman of the House State Government Committee, said hearings on the issue will be held during the summer after the budget was passed. 

In the Senate, the Pippy proposal has collected 17 co-sponsors, including Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester.

Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Pileggi, said the Republican caucas has various opinions about the potential reduction of the legislature. 

Lisa Scullin, a spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, said the Schwank proposal was worth a discussion, particularly when it comes to the size of the state House. She said Senate Democrats have concerns about reducing the number of seats in the upper chamber. 

All three Senate proposals are waiting for action in the Senate State Government Committee, but the committee has no hearings scheduled for the legislation.

Eric Boehm is a reporter for PA Independent.