May. 05, 2015

HARRISBURG - The House today voted in favor of two bills that seeks to reduce to size of the Legislature, Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) said.  Reed voted in favor of House Bills 153 and 384, which would ultimately reduce the membership of the state House from 203 to 151 and the Senate membership from 50 to 37, respectively.

Reed issued this statement following the passage of the legislation:

“We often hear from our constituents that they want state government to scale back, but they want it done in a manner which is effective, efficient and responsible.  Today’s votes show that the Legislature is listening and that we agree with those sentiments.
“We live in a world which runs on technology and in a Commonwealth where it is much easier to reach constituents than it was in the past.  Through these new resources, we can ensure that everyone across the state has a strong voice in the House and Senate, without having 253 elected members.  Moving toward a smaller, more efficient Legislature represents a step into the future and toward a better, just as responsive, state government.”
Since both bills require a change to the state constitution, the Legislature must approve them in two consecutive sessions, before voters have a chance to weigh in through a referendum.
This is the third time Reed has supported reducing the size of the General Assembly.  These bills now move to the Senate for consideration.

Representative Dave Reed
62nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact: Nick Ruffner
nruffner@pahousegop.com
RepDaveReed.net / Facebook.com/RepReed
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