PACleanSweep plans to host a Constitutional Convention Exhibition in early 2011 and is currently seeking volunteer delegates to participate in the exercise. The Exhibition will be presented as a demonstration of how an actual constitutional convention would work in Pennsylvania.
Based on the provisions of the group's proposed Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act of 2011, the Exhibition will serve as a preview of what could happen at a real constitutional convention, where citizens of Pennsylvania would debate reforms to the structures of government while protecting individual rights. The event will be timed to occur shortly after the next legislative session begins.
"A lot of people are talking about a convention, but few are focusing on how it would actually work," said PACleanSweep founder Russ Diamond. "This exhibition will give Pennsylvanians some real-world experience in advance of a legitimate convention being authorized to pursue government reform." |
The group is seeking citizens from across the state to participate as delegates at the exhibition and hopes to recruit at least three volunteers from each of the state's fifty senate districts. Citizens at least 25 years of age, who have resided in Pennsylvania for at least four years and their senate district for at least one year, are eligible to participate. Public officials and registered lobbyists are not eligible.
While the Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act of 2011 allows for proposed changes to all portions of Articles II-XI of the state's constitution, PACleanSweep will select only a few reform issues to debate due to the limited time allowed by an abbreviated exhibition. Suggestions for debate topics are being solicited from those who volunteer as delegates.
PACleanSweep hopes to demonstrate as many provisions of the Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act of 2011 as possible during the exhibition. Depending on the reform topics selected for debate, legislators, local officials, judges, retired |
public servants, experts, and other interested citizens may be invited to provide testimony to the exhibition or its committees.
The Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act of 2011 provides for funding of an actual convention through the use of current legislative surpluses. Lacking the authority to appropriate such resources, PACleanSweep is asking potential delegates to help fund the Exhibition. As a result, citizen interest will determine the duration and scope of the event.
"PACleanSweep's mission is to educate the general public and public servants on the topic of a limited citizens' constitutional convention," Diamond said. "Hosting a public exhibition to demonstrate the process is the best way to do just that."
Up To 150 Citizens to Debate Reform
If you had your way, what government reforms would you enact?
Term limits? Changing the size of the legislature? Ending gerrymandering by fixing the way we draw legislative districts every ten years? Altering the way we select judges? Returning to a two-year budget process in Harrisburg? Putting new rules in place for campaign finance? Making elections fairer? Setting up an independent compensation commission? Recall? Referendum? Initiative?
No matter what your favorite reform is, chances are you won’t get it through the regular legislative process in Harrisburg. It’s not because all legislators are bad people. Rather, it’s simply because human nature gets in the way of voting for something that may diminish your own personal power or status.
Here at PACleanSweep, we want to give Pennsylvanians an opportunity the legislature currently isn’t offering: a chance to gather together with like-minded citizens to discuss and debate reform topics.
Ultimately, we’re working to convince the legislature to authorize a limited citizens’ constitutional convention to do just that. But we understand that many legislators may be afraid of risking any of their current power or status. We also understand that some Pennsylvanians either don’t understand, or have some fear of, the convention process.
To address these points, PACleanSweep is planning to hold a Constitutional Convention Exhibition in early 2011 in the Harrisburg area, and you’re invited to be a delegate!
Read more... |
In the five years since the infamous pay raise, calls for structural government reform have reverberated throughout the Keystone State.
Whether the focus of those calls is term limits, the size of the state legislature, the way electoral districts are drawn after each decennial census, the manner in which Pennsylvania chooses members of the judiciary, the state budget process, or the prospect for referendum and recall, the people have voiced opinions.
The state legislature, despite holding all the cards on these issues, has been mostly unresponsive.
Immediately following the historic 2006 election cycle, an open records law was passed. Both chambers of the General Assembly also enacted internal rule changes, although those rules can be set aside by a simple vote among legislators. These |
events fostered some hope among Pennsylvanians that serious change was around the corner.
But since that time, no real reform has come from Harrisburg. Additionally, the level of electoral pressure in state legislative races has dropped significantly since the 2006 cycle. A logical conclusion to be drawn is that further electoral pressure will bring more actual reform.
Unfortunately, the electoral pressure provided by PACleanSweep and others in 2005-06 created a lot of bad blood between citizens and their elected servants. Faith in the institutions of government has not recovered. Scandals and corruption have complicated the situation.
Restoring Citizen Confidence
But there is a way to rebuild citizen confidence in government without creating more bad blood.
Read more... |
