HARRISBURG PA – How many state legislators constitute an effective group? No, the answer is not “none,” although that might have made a worthy punch line.
Rep. Sam Smith
Actually, Rep. Sam Smith of Jefferson County, who has been the speaker of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives for the past six months, on Tuesday (Aug. 9, 2011) suggested the best answer might be “about 150.”
Smith is one of several legislators who in recent weeks have offered competing proposals to shrink the size of state government in Harrisburg in an effort to reduce costs and make the political body work better. The number he chose “isn’t magic,” he said, but instead was based on evidence that suggested legislators could best learn their colleague’s opinions about various issues in a group of far fewer than the existing 203 House politicians.
Smith’s testimony to the House State Government Committee was posted the same day to YouTube by The Pennsylvania Independent online news service.
- Watch the video, above, or see it at the YouTube user channel of PAindependent.
Photo from Rep. Sam Smith
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[...] Best Size For State House May Be 150, Leader Says With Video. Sam Smith, speaker of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives for the past six months, said Tuesday that the optimal number of state representatives might be somewhere around 150. He was part of this week’s debate over shrinking the size of state government. [...]