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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 7, 2012 03:50 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Initiative and Referendum in Pennsylvania |
| In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation that would permit initiative and referendum in Pennsylvania. Today, 27 states have some form of initiative and/or referendum process. Proponents of this process point to the advantages of direct democracy. They claim that elected representatives can, at times, become consumed with their power and take actions that represent their own self-interest and not the interest of the people. Initiatives can be used to make the will of the people law on issues that elected officials are unwilling to address. I will be reintroducing a Joint Resolution that would permit initiative and referendum in Pennsylvania. Statues could not be proposed by submitting petitions signed by registered electors equal to a number of not less than 5% of the votes cast for Governor in not less than 45 counties. I believe that giving more power to the people to affect their government outcomes is a good thing—and long overdue. This is a reintroduction of Senate Bill 653 from the previous legislative session. Co-sponsors included BROWNE, RAFFERTY AND FONTANA |
Introduced as SB365