LEARN

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"Never give in except
to convictions of honor
and good sense"

WINSTON CHURCHILL

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CLICK EITHER OF THE PICTURES ABOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR 26TH PRESIDENT!!

CLICK EITHER OF THE PICTURES ABOVE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
BRITAIN'S TRUE RENAISSANCE MAN

STATE REPRESENTATIVE
IN THE PENNSYLVANIA
LEGISLATIVE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
101

"The General Assembly forms the legislative branch of
Pennsylvania's state government. It drafts and passes the laws
for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, subject to the Governor's
veto power. The General Assembly is comprised of two
chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate."

From the Pennsylvania House of Representatives website.

There are 203 Representatives in the State House and they are elected every 2 years. Our
legislators are usually in session 3 days a week. The remaining 2-3 days are spent at their
offices in their home district working on legislative business, meeting with constituents or
attending district functions. There are no set hours for a State Representative so a typical
day may start at 7am with a business breakfast, followed by 8 hours in session in the House
and a district function in the evening.

Legislative sessions can run far later than the standard 8 hour work day since the House can
remain in session until 11 pm at night. During those times when critical legislation is being
discussed, such as when the STATE BUDGET (click this link to see this years budget) is seeking
approval in June, legislators can be in session 7 days a week. During 2009 the budget
wasn't finalized until September so the legislators continued to meet throughout the entire
summer.

While a legislator is expected to be in Harrisburg when the House is in session, the amount of
time they spend working in their district is at their own discretion. However, most long term
legislators have a reputation for being very active in both their jobs & their communities.

The principle responsibility of our legislators is to create our Commonwealth's laws. A law
can take anywhere from a few months to years to come to fruition. The process to become
a law is long and complex. Click the following link for a detailed description of how a bill
becomes a law:

http://www.elc-pa.org/pubs/downloads/english/how%20bill%20becomes%20law.TP%2011-02.1.16.03.pdf

State Representatives have specific criteria they must meet before they can run for
this office. The following are the qualifications an individual must meet:

1. Must be at least 21 years of age; and
2. reside in Pennsylvania for at least four years; and
3. reside within the district for at least one year; plus
4. acquire 300 signatures on a candidacy petition that are:
a) filled out correctly
b) signed by registered voters
c) who are residents of that candidates area
d) and members of that candidates party

If elected, Representatives must retain their district residence for the duration of their elected
service and they can not hold any other salaried office in the state or federal government.

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Many people confuse their State Representatives with Congressmen. You will also hear
Congressmen referred to as Legislators or Representatives. Congress is one of the two groups
of people who represent you at the Federal level. These are the men & women who go to
Washington as opposed to Harrisburg. Even more confusing is that there are State Senators
(Mike Brubaker, Lloyd Smucker & Mike Folmer) & Federal Senators (Arlen Specter & Bob
Casey).

Joe Pitts is the Federal Congressman who represents District 16 which is Lancaster County and
part of Chester County. Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Bob Casey both represent the
entire state of Pennsylvania.

Don't feel bad if you find all of this confusing. A lot of people do. However, if you have any
further questions, please e-mail them to us and we will try to answer them for you!

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