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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 30, 2014 04:38 PM |
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| From: | Representative Seth M. Grove |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Constitutional Amendment for a Smaller More Productive General Assembly |
| In the near future I plan to introduce a joint resolution to amend the constitution, in order to provide Pennsylvanians with a smaller, better and harder working government. This resolution would amend the constitution by reducing the number of House and Senate members in the General Assembly. After the year 2020, the House of Representatives one of the largest legislative bodies in the United States would be reduced from 203 members down to 153 members. At the same time the resolution would reduce the number of Senators from 50 members down to 45 members. In addition this amendment to the constitution changes the length and number of terms for which legislators serve the public. The first change by the amendment is to lengthen the terms for members of the General Assembly. Following adoption of this amendment all House members would serve for a 4 year term while Senators would serve for a 6 year term. However, this amendment would simultaneously establish term limits on the General Assembly. After the adoption of this amendment all House members will be term limited after 6 terms and Senators term limited after 4 terms. This would allow the General Assembly to focus more on policy issues than reelection efforts. Another change under this resolution to the constitution would be to mandate a minimum number of voting session days for the General Assembly to 160 days. Currently, the legislature is in voting session 130 days every two years. These additional 30 days would allow the legislature more time to tackle the major problems facing Pennsylvanians today. Finally, this amendment clarifies the constitution to explicitly prevent individuals convicted of a felony from serving in the legislature. This clarification is important to ensure Pennsylvanians not only can trust state government, but also trust the individuals representing them in Harrisburg. By reducing the size of the General Assembly, preventing felons from serving in the legislature and increasing the number of session days while establishing term limits; Pennsylvanians are receiving a legislature more capable of tackling major problems facing the Commonwealth. Please Join me in Cosponsoring this resolution. If you have any questions please contact Jordan Grant by phone at 717-767-3947 or by email at Jgrant@pahousegop.com |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB149