Pennsylvania A Step Closer To Vote On Smaller House Of Reps
HARRISBURG, Pa (CBS) -- A referendum asking Pennsylvania voters if they want a smaller state House of Representatives could end up the ballot this November.
Before a proposed amendment to the state constitution can be placed on the ballot, legislation authorizing that must pass the House and Senate in two consecutive two-year legislative sessions. A proposal to shrink the state House by a quarter – from 203 to 151 members – was approved in the 2015-16 session, and now it has begun its second journey through the legislature, with approval by the House State Government Committee. Supporters say it will make the legislature work more efficiently. But committee member and Montgomery County Democrat Mary Jo Daley doesn't see it that way.
"I'm not really sure that this country was founded on efficient debates," Daley said.
A full House vote on the bill to reduce the size of the House is expected soon. The committee also advanced a bill to trim the size of the Senate, but that proposal could not make the ballot this year.