Widener Law Commonwealth Law and Government Institute hosted a Senate Democratic Policy Committee round table discussion focusing on how to improve government and prevent gridlock in Pennsylvania legislature.
The round table was organized by Sen. Rob Teplitz (D- Dauphin/Perry County). The discussion addressed redistricting reform. Sen. Lisa M. Boscola (D-Northampton) discussed her proposed legislation that would change the way Pennsylvania draws legislative boundaries in each district. The proposed bill would establish an 11 member independent citizen’s commission to draw state and congressional district boundaries.
Professor Jill Family, Director of the Law and Government Institute at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, stressed the need to address redistricting reform now, as the next federal Census takes place in 2020, followed by legislative and Congressional redistricting.
“Reforms to the redistricting process would require an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution, which need approval in the legislature in two consecutive legislative sessions,” she said.
Other issues discussed during the roundtable included campaign finance reform, voting access, budget negotiations, and pay to play.
Additional participants included: Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny); Sen. John Blake (D-Lackawanna); Sen. Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny); David Thornburgh, President and C.E.O., Committee of Seventy; Suzanne Almeida, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania; Barry Kauffman, Senior Advisor, Common Cause of PA; Brinda Carroll Penyak, Deputy Director, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; and Anne Gingerich, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations.
