HARRISBURG -- A Schuylkill County senator is pushing a new plan to reduce the size of the Legislature -- eventually.

Republican Sen. David Argall yesterday proposed a reduction in the size of the 50-member Senate and the 203-member House, but the reduction wouldn't be fully complete until 2053 -- yes, 44 years from now.

He would reduce the size of the House by 10 seats per decade, starting in 2013, when the number would drop to 193. It would drop to 183 members in 2023, and so on. By 2053, it would be down to 153 members, 50 fewer than there are now.

The Senate would lose one member in 2013, dropping to 49, and then would drop to 47 members in 2023 and to 45 members in 2033. It would stay at 45 members, a decline of five from the current level.

Mr. Argall, who used to be in the House, also thinks House members should serve four-year terms rather than the current two-year terms. He said that would give them more time to think about state issues and legislation rather than constantly worrying about raising funds for another re-election campaign.

He is seeking co-sponsors for his bill, which hasn't been introduced yet. It will probably go to the Senate's State Government Committee. Other bills on reducing the size of the Legislature have been introduced in the past and haven't gone anywhere.

Two Republican legislators from Moon, Rep. Mark Mustio and Sen. John Pippy, have proposed trimming the House to 161 members and the Senate to 40. But it's hard to get lawmakers to vote on such changes.

One problem is, as Mr. Argall admitted, "How do you get someone to vote to cancel their own job?"

A constitutional change would be needed to reduce the Legislature, and that would take approval by two different legislative sessions and then by a statewide referendum.

Mr. Argall's proposed reduction in size would only save a few million dollars, he conceded, but the important thing is that the Legislature would be "leading by example."

"Based on current salaries of legislators, when 55 members are reduced, savings would be over $4 million," he said. "When you include legislative benefits and reductions in staff, the cost savings could potentially reach as high as $10 million."

Some lawmakers, such as House Democratic Whip Bill DeWeese of Waysnesburg, oppose cutting the Legislature, saying that it would hurt rural areas, where more towns would have to be lumped into larger districts and constituents would find it hard to reach their legislator if they had a problem.

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