Inquirer Editorial: More with less in Harrisburg

It could be said of Harrisburg that, to paraphrase Churchill, never in the field of human lawmaking was so much paid to so many for so little.

The Pennsylvania legislature has more members than any save New Hampshire's virtually volunteer force, with higher salaries than all but California's. It's also second only to that most populous state in costliness, and second to none in the size of its staff. One of the few modest dimensions of our General Assembly - as evidenced by its continuing failure to address most major issues before it - is its achievement.

State House Speaker Sam Smith (R., Jefferson) deserves credit for the latest effort to address this. His bills would reduce the legislature by 62 members, or about a quarter. That could begin to make the body more efficient, while putting a dent in its reputation for self-serving bloat.

That the bills have been backed by the speaker as well as a committee suggests a degree of seriousness. However, given that they would change the state constitution in a way that is contrary to the interests of many legislators, they have a long way to go.

As if to help them along, some of their prospective victims have all but confessed that they're tired of the job anyway. Though the legislature is seldom in session considering that it claims to be full-time - and pays itself accordingly - The Inquirer's Angela Couloumbis reported last week that some members, particularly Philadelphia area Democrats, are making a habit of not showing up.

Why? According to Sen. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery), who missed 13 of 53 session days last year and as many this year, his fellow senators devote much of their time to "nothing of substance." Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.) suggested that he missed 41 session days in three years because he was too busy being famous and awesome: "There are some people who show up there [in Harrisburg] every single day, and I don't think you know their name," he told The Inquirer, "and I don't think they will ever be at the level I am."

Of course, even though it costs about $300 million a year, the legislature accounts for a small fraction of the state budget. And trimming its compensation practices could save as much without a constitutional amendment. Moreover, reforming its redistricting, campaign finance, ethics, and other rules is at least as important as addressing its excess personnel and cost.

Still, Smith's bills would be a meaningful gesture toward reforming a body that provokes such open disdain among much of its own outsize membership.