From Fair Districts PA (http://www.fairdistrictspa.com):
On April 3, Senate Bill 22 was reintroduced by Senators Boscola and Folmer and a bipartisan list of cosponsors. The bill includes amendments negotiated among legislators in the late spring of 2018, minus the Aument judicial region amendment.
On Friday, we learned that the bill will be considered in the Senate State Government Committee on Tuesday, April 9.
While we appreciate the Senate interest in redistricting reform and the years of work on this effort by Senator Boscola, we do not support SB 22 in its current state. As written, the bill cannot be implemented until 2030 because it requires that the commission be appointed by July 1 of the census year. As we know, SB 22 would not go to the voters until May 2021 at the earliest. The next census year would be 2030. We have repeatedly made that concern clear to both Senators Boscola and Folmer and have recommended amendments to address that issue.
In the House we are pushing hard for the Two Bill, One Commission strategy we’ve described online and in emails and conference calls. As of Friday, HB 23 had 76 cosponsors and HB 22 was close behind. Both will be introduced tomorrow.
The following was emailed to committee members and cosponsors:
Fair Districts PA does not support Senate Bill 22 in the form that it was introduced less than one week ago. The bill must be amended in committee to fix critical problems.
Even though this version is similar to the bill that passed the Senate last June (minus unrelated provisions dealing with regional election of appellate judges), this bill cannot be implemented in time for the next round of redistricting in 2021.
The failure by the Legislature to pass this bill in the 2017-18 session drastically shortened the time remaining to enact reform. Amending Pennsylvania’s Constitution requires passing the same amendment in two consecutive two-year sessions followed by a voter referendum. The earliest this could possibly occur would be at the Primary election in May 2021.
SB 22 says the new redistricting commission must be appointed no later than July 1 of each Federal census year. The next Federal census after May of 2021 will be in 2030. Pennsylvania voters will not wait another decade to end partisan gerrymandering.
SB 22 also lacks crucial details that determine how commission applicants will be evaluated and selected. The 2018 version of SB 22 left these details to be worked out later through implementing legislation.
But “later” is no longer an option. With no process in place for screening applicants, leaders of the General Assembly would be free to appoint their political allies to the commission. This means of course that the commission would not be independent of the Legislature – a key reform that voters are demanding.
These critical problems should be fixed before SB 22 is reported from committee. Otherwise, a vote in favor of SB 22 is a vote to allow partisan gerrymandering to continue in Pennsylvania for another decade.
Statement of Micah Sims, Common Cause Pennsylvania Executive Director
On Tuesday, April 9th the Senate State Government Committee will vote on Senate Bill 22, the same constitutional amendment from Spring 2018 which established a politician-appointed commission to draw legislative and congressional district lines. While we appreciate the continued commitment of Committee Chairs Mike Folmer, Anthony Williams and their colleagues as well as bill sponsor Senator Lisa Boscola to reforming the Pennsylvania redistricting process, as written, this bill is insufficient to address the concerns of Pennsylvanians who are tired of the proverbial fox guarding the henhouse when it comes to drawing fair and representative districts.
While it is refreshing to see elected officials responding to concerns instead of ignoring them, their measure needs to go further. For example, the bill grants elected officials the power to appoint commissioners, allows family members of elected or appointed officials to serve on the commission, and fails to include necessary criteria for drawing districts including compliance with the Voting Rights Act, the consideration of racial equity, and the protection of communities of interest. This constitutional amendment could be the law of the land for decades, so the time to make these essential improvements is now. Unless and until the bill meets the threshold for meaningful reform, Common Cause urges a NO vote on Senate Bill 22.
Common Cause Pennsylvania will continue to work, as we have for the past thirty years, for commonsense reforms that will reform redistricting and eliminate partisan gerrymandering. We believe the best answer is the formation of an independent citizens redistricting commission with robust provisions for transparency and public input and with clear criteria for map drawing that explicitly protects the interests of communities of color and upholds the value of racial equity, not a politician-appointed commission in which legislators handpick the commissioners who will draw their districts. As this bill proceeds, Common Cause will monitor and alert citizens if this legislation continues to fail to meet the standards of fairness and transparency that the public demands. This is an ongoing conversation and we are committed to working with legislators and advocates for the right solution for Pennsylvania.
During the committee meeting on Tuesday, we will be supporting SB178.
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