State legislature should be reduced
Ah, yes! Just like the swallows returning to Capistrano, we’ve now had the annual proposal from Harrisburg to reduce the size of the state legislature.
This idea calls for reducing the state house from 203 to 153 and the state senate by a dozen.
Two hundred three and even 153 might be the right number if the only way to get to Harrisburg was by stage coach or canal barge, but in this high-tech instant communication age, even 153 is too high.
California, with more than three times our population, has 80 in its state house and 50 in its state senate.
Moreover, back in the mid-1990s, voters went to the polls and placed a limit on the terms of its state legislators. That ain’t California dreamin’, that’s reality.
Term limits for members of our general assembly? The only term limits here are for the ones already in the slammer.
Ross A. Matlack Jr.
Mt. Lebanon