Letter to the Editor: Reduce State Government Size

Dear Editor: 

On Feb. 8 a bill was referred to the State Government Committee in Harrisburg. The bill number is SB 457 of 2011, and you can view it here.

It's a very interesting bill and one that a number of candidates in the last election said they would favor.

Senator Elder Vogel Jr. of the 47th Pennsylvania District submitted this bill, which would eliminate 122 seats in the Pennsylvania Legislature.

He proposes the elimination of 20 Senate seats and 102 House seats.

He predicts that this legislation would save the citizens of the Commonwealth approximately $117.5 million dollars. It would also reduce the amount of time spent in discussions of new bills.

Of course, the downside to this bill would be getting the votes needed for bringing the bill out of Committee and onto the floor for a vote.

A vote for the bill might be a vote to eliminate the legislator's own job. How many people would like to eliminate his or her own job? Yes, this legislation has about the same chance as our snow still being around on July 4th. But—public opinion just might get it passed. 

Our local Senator, Andy Dinniman, is a member of the Committee on State Government. If you're in favor of decreasing the size of our State Government please contact Andy and let him know.

Edgar A. Naratil, Phoenixville, PA