May. 05, 2015
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today voted in favor of Rep. Jerry Knowles’ (R-Berks/Carbon/Schuylkill)
House Bill 153, which seeks to reduce the number of seats in the state House from 203 to 151.
“Pennsylvania has the largest full-time legislature in the entire country, and today we took one of the first steps to allow the people of Pennsylvania – those who pay the bills – the opportunity to make this decision,” said Knowles. “This bill is about making our state government run more efficiently by downsizing and streamlining several common processes.”
Under Knowles’ bill, the number of seats in the state House would be reduced to 151, and each state representative would represent approximately 84,500 constituents. Currently, each state representative is responsible for serving approximately 62,000 residents in their respective districts.
Pennsylvania is populated by more than 12.7 million residents. Similar legislation has passed the House during the two previous legislative sessions, but has yet to be considered by the state Senate.
The reduction of members in the state House would not be effective until the first legislative session after the 2020 reapportionment. Knowles said that if the current base salary for legislators is used – assuming the elimination or reduction of other associated costs are included – reducing the size of the House could result in $10 million to $15 million in annual savings to the General Fund.
The House also approved
House Bill 384 on Tuesday, legislation sponsored by Rep. Fred Keller (R-Snyder/Union) to reduce the size of the state Senate to 37 senatorial districts.
Both Knowles’ and Keller’s bills have been sent to the Senate for their consideration. Both proposals must be passed during two consecutive legislative sessions and then placed on the ballot as a referendum question for voters in order for the size reductions to be made.
For more information about House Bill 153, or any other legislative topic, please contact Knowles’ district office in Tamaqua at 570-668-1240, or in Hamburg at 610-562-3411.
Representative Jerry Knowles
124th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
kcorbin@pahousegop.com
RepKnowles.com /
Facebook.com/RepKnowles