After last minute amendment, PUMP pulls support for Senate Bill 22

PUMP believes in the importance of equitable legislative districts that fairly represent all voting populations. That’s why we have previously endorsed legislation in the PA House and Senate that would establish an independent citizen’s redistricting commission.

One of the pieces of legislation we endorsed was Senate Bill 22. However, although the bill just passed in the Senate, we no longer support SB 22. While the original bill would have established an independent citizen’s redistricting commission and included various provisions to ensure the fairness of the process, the version that passed was amended at the last minute, compromising the spirit of the bill.

Because of the results of this disappointing amendment and vote in the PA Senate, our attention and energy has turned to the PA House, where a couple of redistricting bills have been introduced, including House Bill 2402 (a reintroduction of the original House Bill 722, which we previously supported before it was gutted via amendment). We hope to see strong legislation that will ensure that PA legislative and congressional districts are representative and equitable.

Although the process of getting redistricting legislation through the House and Senate has been challenging, we are encouraged by the continued dedication of many of our representatives, Pennsylvania residents and voters, and many other organizations to fixing our broken redistricting process.

Stay tuned to our blog, Facebook, and Twitter for continued updates from us about redistricting legislation in Pennsylvania and ways you can support reform efforts.