Feb 12, 2018 2 min read

The most expensive full-time state legislature in the country just can’t seem to get out of its own way.

Pennsylvania’s General Assembly – with its 203 state representatives and 50 senators – once again is wavering on a plan to downsize the number of members.

A vote last week by the state House to reduce its size to 151 members was tripped up when the bill was amended at the last minute to include the state Senate in the downsizing. The Senate earlier had refused to sacrifice itself. But the state House demanded its bicameral counterpart lose a few positions, too, reducing the number of senators to 38.

That means the process, which had been nearing the finish line and could have been placed on a referendum for voters to decide its fate this fall, must now go through two more successful votes in consecutive legislative sessions with the amended terms. That’s a tall order for a plan 13 years in the making.

The genesis of this idea came after the Legislature’s midnight pay raise in 2005. The public outrage that ensued at the time forced many incumbents to retire or face primary challengers the following year.

A new, fresh crop of legislators ascended to their positions in 2007 with the promise of changes and a smaller legislative branch. That was more than a decade ago, and we’re still waiting.

It’s no wonder the voters have lost confidence in this bloated Legislature. Especially after the Republican-controlled House and Senate chambers failed to pass a new map redrawing Pennsylvania’s 18 congressional districts before Friday’s deadline. The state Supreme Court now will have to do the work that is supposed to be the job of the legislative branch.

So, what exactly does the Legislature do besides collect per diem checks and fail to pass budgets on time?

Time is running out before these downsizing changes can be made when districts are reapportioned following the 2020 census. Incumbents should be on notice that they will pay a hefty political price for once again failing to do what voters from across the partisan spectrum are demanding. It seems the General Assembly will once again kick this can down the road to another decade, all the while wasting time and taxpayer money to insulate its members.