Apr. 11, 2018
HARRISBURG — House State Government Committee Chairman Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) issued the following statement today after convening a voting meeting to amend unaccountable, hyperpartisan congressional redistricting legislation (
House Bill 722):
“The un-amended bill would create an unaccountable, bureaucratic commission which would not be representative of all Pennsylvanians, and would remain susceptible to more partisan manipulation by an activist Supreme court.
“As amended, House Bill 722 would establish a Citizens Commission that is both bipartisan and transparent. With commission members elected from the General Assembly, this constitutional amendment would by nature be truly representative of all Pennsylvania voters, who would also be empowered to decide whether this amendment to our Constitution is enacted through a referendum.”
“With a citizens redistricting commission comprised of elected representatives, the interests of all Pennsylvanians would be taken into account, as any plan approved by the commission would require votes from members of both the majority and minority caucuses.
“Further, the amended House Bill 722 would ensure that neutral, locally focused criteria would remain the only standard by which a map could be judged, preventing any activist Supreme court from tyrannically subverting these criteria to its own preferred partisan agenda.
“Most importantly, House Bill 722 now reinforces existing constitutional provisions, which require a court to return a redistricting plan they find unconstitutional to the commission for revision, as they have no constitutional authority to redraw congressional maps independent from the people’s legitimately elected Legislature.”
Representative Daryl Metcalfe
12th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Ty McCauslin
717.772.9979
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