Lawmakers have until midnight tonight
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Legislative leaders failed to agree late Monday on a final member for the state Legislature’s redistricting commission, likely leaving the decision in the state Supreme Court’s hands.
Lawmakers had until Monday to reach an agreement on the fifth member of the board charged with redrawing the state’s 253 legislative districts following last year’s census. The fifth member serves as the chair of the committee and is expected to mediate between the caucus leaders who hold the other four positions.
If lawmakers failed to reach an agreement by midnight, the state Supreme Court is set to step in and appoint the final member, as it has done in three of the past four redistricting processes.
The legislative map for state House and state Senate districts is the sole responsibility of the redistricting commission. The final products do not have to be approved by the General Assembly or the governor. Only congressional district lines have to win approval of the House, Senate and governor.
State Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-Chester, is serving as the temporary chair of the commission until a fifth member is selected or appointed. During the course of the past two weeks in public hearings, the four leaders interviewed 15 people who applied to be the chair of the commission.
“Unfortunately, none of those 15 individuals were able to secure the support of the majority of this commission to be the fifth member,” said Pileggi.
The final member of the commission does not have to be one of the 15 individuals interviewed.
State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, declined to comment on the commission’s failure to reach consensus.
The other members of the commission are House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and House Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny.
Bill Patton, spokesperson for Dermody, said the House Democratic leaders acknowledge the state Supreme Court had made well-considered decisions in the past.
“Each chairman performed well and in fact helped to tamp down some potential partisan disputes that arose during the commission’s work,” said Patton.
Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a citizens’ advocacy group urging an open, transparent and nonpartisan redistricting process, said it would be better for the lawmakers to make a selection rather than leaving it up to the court.
“If you can get people from both parties to have a level of confidence that the person will be fair, I think that’s a promising sign,” said Kauffman. “Historically, we’ve only done that once.”
Since the current redistricting process was established in 1968, four men have served as chairs of the commission: A. Leo Levin, a professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School; James Freeman, dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School; Robert Cindrich, a Pittsburgh attorney; and Frank Montemuro, a retired state Supreme Court justice, served on the 1971, 1981, 1991, and 2001 commissions, respectively.
Only Freeman was selected by consensus of the other commission members. The others were appointed by the state Supreme Court.
The state Supreme Court did not return calls for comment.
According to the state Constitution, a majority of the court’s nine members must approve the final member of the commission, but there are no other guidelines regarding the process.
The state Supreme Court consists of five Democrats and four Republicans, though Chief Justice Ron Castille is a Republican.
Whoever is selected to serve as the chair of the commission will be paid for his work, in an amount to be determined in a public meeting later this year. In 2001, Montemuro received $355 per day.
Political observers say changes to the state’s demographics and greater population growth in the east will require at least three state House districts and one state Senate seat to be moved from the western part of the state to the east.
Kauffman said the commission should avoid using historical voting patterns, voter’s party registrations and the homes of lawmakers or potential challengers when drawing the new districts.
