Solution

Fix the Rules:

For years, Pennsylvania’s legislative rules have put all agenda-setting power in the hands of committee chairs and legislative leaders. The result is a stark divide between bills enacted and policies sought by the large majority of Pennsylvania voters. Despite promises to the contrary, the situation is growing worse. Recent rule changes have shut out minority party voices almost completely. The 2021-2022 session appears on course to be one of the least collaborative and least productive on record.

Pennsylvania has pressing problems that demand bipartisan collaboration and real solutions. It’s time for new rules that ensure good bills with broad support are given a vote. And it’s time to make sure legislators from all parts of the state and across the political spectrum have a meaningful role in deciding what bills are enacted.

We need rules that guarantee bipartisan solutions can receive a vote:

• Bills with demonstrated bipartisan support must be guaranteed a vote in committee.
• Bills voted out of committee with bipartisan support must be guaranteed a vote on the chamber floor.
• Bills passed in one chamber with bipartisan support should be given consideration in the other chamber.

Such rules would ensure every legislator has the ability to play a meaningful role in deciding what bills are enacted.

Fix the Rules: Take Action

Redistricting Reform:

We are assessing the recent process - what worked, what needs improvement and what was missing. We are researching recently created independent citizens redistricting commissions to better understand best practices to inform a constitutional amendment to establish a citizens commission in PA.

Some elements of reform are clear:

1. Pennsylvania needs ONE independent citizen redistricting commission responsible for Congressional, House and Senate maps. Legislators should not have a role in drawing any of these, and one process and commission would reduce the confusion caused by multiple entities creating multiple ways to engage.
2. Commissioners and commission must be genuinely independent of legislative influence, both in the selection process and in the final approval process.
3. Redistricting criteria must be clear and enforceable, prioritized in a way that gives commissioners guidance as they balance conflicting demands.
4. There must be ample opportunity for public input both before and after preliminary maps are drawn.
5. All data, drafts and testimony must be available to the public as quickly as possible in an easily accessible format.
6. The failsafe for the process, should commissioners fail to agree, must be clear, and must remain within the commission itself.

Past bills (links to to come) will provide a starting place, with adjustments made based on lessons learned through the 2022 redistricting process in Pennsylvania and other states.

Learn More about Redistricting