Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, is sworn into office in the chamber of the House of Representatives. She is now serving her second term representing the 44th Legislative District.

Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Allegheny, is trying again to reduce the size of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

Gaydos has introduced House Bill 482, which would decrease the size of the House from 203 members to 151 members. Gaydos’ legislation was referred to the House’s State Government Committee on Tuesday.

Pennsylvania has the largest full-time legislature in the nation with with 253 total members — 203 in the House and 50 in the Senate. The legislature is the third-highest-paid in the nation, trailing New York and California. Gaydos argues that many states have fewer legislators and larger districts. Michigan has a population of 9,883,640 and each of their 110 house members represent 89,851 constituents, compared to Pennsylvania’s population of 12,702,379 with 203 districts of 62,573 constituents.

“With the constant improvement and evolution of technology, legislators can respond to constituents more quickly and efficiently than ever, and as such saving taxpayer’s none,” Gaydos wrote in her legislative memorandum. “Utilizing existing technology would make it possible to reduce the size of the legislature without sacrificing efficiency, communication with our constituents, or increasing expenses. Furthermore, a smaller, more efficient legislature would allow for a more robust discussion and clearer debates, providing more time to each member to have his or her voice heard.”

In order to change the size of the House or Senate, the chambers would have to approve a constitutional amendment, which requires passing identical versions of a bill in two consecutive legislative sessions, then having voters approve it in a statewide referendum. Lawmakers have been unable to pass the legislation in back-to-back sessions in the past. Similar legislation passed both the House and the Senate in 2015-16 and passed the Senate in 2020 by a 42-7 vote.

Common Cause Pennsylvania lobbied against previous efforts to reduce the size of the legislature, saying reducing the size of the legislature without changing the way the legislature works won’t improve state government. The reduction would also, in the view of Common Cause officials, decrease representation in communities of color and areas with a high population.

“Changes to the size of the legislature without changing the back-room process for drawing districts, is not true reform,” the organization wrote in 2018. “HB 153 will not improve the efficiency or effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s government. Reducing the number of legislators would not automatically result in an equal reduction in either direct or indirect costs.”