After 'Bonusgate,' some lawmakers renewing push for Constitutional Convention

State Rep. Scott Boyd (R-Lancaster County) is backed by several Republican lawmakers as he calls for a Constitutional Convention: Politicker PhotoHARRISBURG -- Can Harrisburg's latest scandal motivate voters to demand a Constitutional Convention?

A group of legislators gathered in the Capitol said Wednesday that, in the wake of "Bonusgate," they're at least going to find out.

State Rep. Curt Schroder (R-Chester County), flanked by several midstate Republican lawmakers, announced he has introduced a bill that would ask voters in 2009 whether they want what many reformers consider the only way to overhaul the Capitol's political culture.

It's the latest call for a convention, which would grant elected citizens, not lawmakers, the power make significant changes to the structure and processes of state government.

Although the Holy Grail for reformers, a convention is also a cause of concern for some who say sweeping changes could introduce as many problems as it solves.

"As an institution, we have lost faith of three-fourths of our citizens," Schroder said, citing a Qunnipiac University poll released Tuesday.

"Fixing the problems of state government is simply too important to leave to politicians who have shaped politics today," said Schroder, who added that the reform movement that arose following the 2005 pay-raise scandal has run its course. 

If passed by the legislature and approved by voters on the Nov. 3, 2009, ballot, Schroder's plan would call for each of the state's 50 senatorial districts to send three delegates to the convention. Delegates, who could not be a public official or lobbyist, would be elected by voters the same day they would decide whether to call a convention in the first place.

The lawmakers gathered said a convention would pave the way for reforms that have been stymied in the legislature, such as redistricting, reducing the General Assembly's size, and enacting term limits.

The lobbyists, staffers and lawmakers in the Capitol aren't going to make those kinds of changes without kicking or screaming, if at all, said reform advocate state Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County).

"The ladies and gentlemen who work in this building don't want to change -- they want the status quo," Piccola said.

If a convention is called, 15 chosen delegates, the convention's elected leaders, and the majority and minority leaders in the Senate and House would convene to organize the 10 committees. Those groups will address each of the 10 articles of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Any changes will need support of two-thirds of the delegates and approval of voters on the ballot in 2010, although whether residents will vote on each change or simply vote yes or not to the whole bundle of Constitutional changes will be decided at the convention.

Schroder said Bonusgate, which most expect will produce another two or three rounds of indictments, might finally push voters, and subsequently their lawmakers, to demand a convention.

"The odds are still long, but I think with each passing day and each passing revelation they get better," he told PolitickerPA.com after the press conference.