Introducing House Bill 31 and Senate Bill 131

Описание: Over 400 Pennsylvanians registered for this March 25 Zoom webinar introducing the PA constitutional amendment to reform redistricting. Panelist explained the background of the bill and described provisions to ensure independence, public input and transparency, and prioritized criteria.

Panelists included Carol Kuniholm, Chair of Fair Districts PA; Philip Hensley-Robin, Executive Director of Common Cause Pennsylvania; and Cameron Allen, legislative director in the office of Senator Tim Kearney.

Amy Widestrom, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, spoke briefly about the ways the League has supported this reform, and further ways to engage with the League on redistricting and other reforms. Lauren Cristella, CEO and President of Committee of Seventy, spoke about the work of the Committee of Seventy and the contribution of Draw the Lines, a fiscal project of C70 focused on education about redistricting and mapping.

House prime sponsor Representative Steve Samuelson called in to offer encouragement and an update on progress on the House bill. Additional prime sponsors are Representative Mark Gillen and Senator Tim Kearney.

Carol Kuniholm:
Introduction and background on the bill 00.00
Philip Hensley-Robin:
Lessons learned from other state 06:37
Current Pennsylvania processes: 16:52
Key Features of2HB 31 and SB 131: 20:26
Commission independence: 21:00
Cameron Allen:
Transparency: open meetings and public input: 23:36
Philip Hensley-Robin:
Avoiding a deadlock: the failsafe vote 29:29
Cameron Allen:
Clearly defined timeline: 31:27
Prison Reallocation: 34:33
Carol Kuniholm:
Prioritized mapping criteria: 37:20
Constitutional amendment timeline: 47:55
Amy Widestrom:
League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania involvement: 51:02
Lauren Cristella:
Committee of Seventy and Draw the Lines involvement: 56:06
Philip Hensley-Robin:
Common Cause Pennsylvania involvement: 1:01:38
Representative Steve Samuelson:
Update on HB 31 and encouragement to contact legislators: 1:05:13
Carol Kuniholm:
Conclusions: 1:08:04

Find a summary of this event along with links to bills, co-sponsor memos, bill summary, comparison of current and proposed processes, and a report, Why PA needs an independent redistricting commission. at https://www.fairdistrictspa.com/updat....