Changing a state’s constitution is a big move, so big that two papers in every county are required to print a local notice about it.
House Bill 153 is a proposal to reduce the number of members of the House from 203 to 151.
State Representative John Knowles, of the 124th District, is sponsoring the legislation and in a statement said it’s all about “downsizing and streamlining processes to operate more efficiently at a lower cost to taxpayers.” “
It’s a three-stage process:
Stage one- Is already complete.This years session has agreed that the public should be able to vote to reduce the number of representatives in the assembly.
Stage two- Members in the House and Senate for 2017 and 2018 must vote a second time.
Stage three- If passed again, the general public will be able to cast their ballot in the year 2020.
State Representative John McGinnis, of the 79th District, said it’s a lengthy but necessary process.
“Changing the state’s constitution is not something to be done lightly,” McGinnis said.
McGinnis agreed that making cuts will save money, but out of a state’s budget of $30 billion, saving millions isn’t really that significant.
He added that “the people who are against this say that we each represent 64,000 people now and if this goes through, we’d represent 86,000.”
That ratio of people per representative could mean less collaboration between the two.
In 2020 the state is set to under-go re-districting.
Currently, McGinnis said the system sets up “safe areas” for both Democrats and Republicans.
He said downsizing could make for more competitive elections.
If you’d like to read House Bill 153, click here.