Downsizing the legislature can’t be a bad idea. Imagine the thousands of taxpayer dollars saved from fewer bonuses for political campaign work paid to state legislative staffers alone.  Shrinkage in the state legislative chamber – it would be like a frightened turtle – and in this case a good thing.   From the Morning Call:

In January 2007, the Capitol was in the grip of reform fever following a pay raise debacle. The House and Senate were racing to rehab their images and make themselves more accountable to the public.

For Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Allegheny, it seemed like a perfect time to introduce a bill shrinking the House from 203 to 161 members, and the Senate from 50 to 40 members.

The proposal went exactly nowhere — just as similar attempts at legislative culling have for years.

But on Aug. 19, with the Capitol once again focused on reform, Mustio’s proposal is getting its first-ever public hearing before the House State Government Committee.
Only nine days remain on the legislative calendar. But lawmakers are squeezed between state Attorney General Tom Corbett’s arrests in the Bonusgate scandal and November’s re-election lineup.

As a result, the suburban Pittsburgh lawmaker says he’s hoping for a slightly better outcome this time.

”The private sector has to do more with less,” said Mustio, who sponsored a similar [and failed] bill in the 2006-07 session. ”And there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do the same.”

Mustio’s proposal is a constitutional amendment, which means it has to be approved in consecutive legislative sessions and then by voters via a referendum. A similar plan is pending in the state Senate.

Read the Rest…