State House Majority Leader Dave Reed has proposed a three-bill government reform package that he says would continue the current legislative session’s government reform movement.
Reed, who is not running to retain his 62nd District seat this year, says recent reforms have been important, but “there is still more which needs to be done”.
One of the bills would establish term limits for committee chairs in the House. Committee chairs in posts which are determined by seniority would only be able to serve for three legislative sessions.
A second reform would open the state’s Primary elections to independent or non-affiliated voters, allowing them to choose which Primary election they wish to vote in. Pennsylvania currently has 750,000 voters in those categories.
Finally, Reed is proposing to reform the way Pennsylvania draws its congressional and legislative districts. The bill would establish an independent commission to draw the boundaries, with members selected in a similar way to the method for choosing juries. Commission members would be randomly selected from all eligible voters and seated in a way that preserves party and geographic balance.
Reed says the current redistricting system has served its purpose, but it’s time for Pennsylvania’s redistricting process to change. He says current proposals before the House still leave the redistricting process open to political tampering.
Reed yesterday sent a co-sponsorship letter to all House members, inviting them to join him in co-sponsoring the three bills.
