HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) has completed a preliminary plan to redraw legislative boundaries based on the 2010 U.S. Census, according to State Senator Gene Yaw (R-23).
In a 3-2 vote, members of the Commission voted to approve the plan, which will leave the majority of Yaw’s district virtually unaffected. In a notable change, Hartleton Borough, Hartley Township, Lewis Township, Limestone Township and New Berlin Borough in Union County were added to the 23rd Senatorial District. Citizens will now have until November 30th to review the plan and suggest possible changes.
“I am very pleased with the Commission’s preliminary plan. I am humbled to be able to continue to represent the citizens of this district who have become my friends and look forward to meeting new constituents,” Yaw said. “We are fortunate in our area of the state. We have economic activity of historic proportions. I consider it an honor to represent five key counties in central Pennsylvania.”
Current district boundaries are designed so that each Senate District would have approximately 245,000 people. Changes in size and concentration of populations are taken into account when reviewing legislative boundaries.
According to 2010 Census data, counties in Yaw’s Senate District, including Lycoming, Bradford and Sullivan saw a slight decrease in population growth, while Susquehanna and Union counties saw a small increase. The added townships conveniently meet the needed population for the District. “This is a plan that meets both constitutional and statutory mandates,” Yaw added.
The LRC is a five-member panel responsible for redrawing the boundaries for state Senate and state House districts to reflect population changes over the past decade as measured by the federal census. Article II, Section 17, of the state Constitution names the four caucus floor leaders as members of the Commission. They, in turn, chose a fifth member, President Judge Emeritus Stephen J McEwen, Jr., of Pennsylvania’s Superior Court, who chairs the LRC.
According to Article II, Section 17 of the state Constitution and current timeline, any person aggrieved by the preliminary plan shall have the same 30-day November 30th deadline to file exceptions with the commission in which case the commission shall have an additional 30 days after the date the exceptions were filed, or until December 30th whichever is sooner, to prepare and file with the elections officer a revised reapportionment plan. Once the final plan is approved, any aggrieved person may file an appeal from the final plan directly to the Supreme Court within 30 days after the filing.
Contact: Rita Zielonis
(717) 787-3280