The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania Resolution Proposes Constitutional Amendment to Replace Legislative Reapportionment Commission with an 11-Member Independent Redistricting Commission
Last action · April 15, 2025: Referred to STATE GOVERNMENT, April 15, 2025Sponsors: Steve Samuelson and 67 others
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 31 proposes a constitutional amendment to abolish the and establish an 11-member Independent Redistricting Commission responsible for drawing legislative and congressional districts. The measure mandates strict eligibility criteria for commissioners, creates public transparency and data-sharing platforms, requires incarcerated individuals to be counted at their last known residences, and appropriates a minimum of $11,500,000 for its operations.
Changes how legislative and congressional boundaries are drawn in Pennsylvania by shifting authority from political leaders to a citizen commission, while establishing strict rules on public participation, data reporting, and anti-gerrymandering criteria for voters and candidates.
- Pennsylvania's legislative redistricting has historically been handled by a Legislative Reapportionment Commission consisting of legislative leaders and a judicial chair. context
- Independent redistricting commissions have been adopted in several U.S. states to reduce perceived partisan gerrymandering in legislative and congressional map drawing. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Registered voters of Pennsylvania
Voters gain the ability to apply for commission membership, participate in public hearings, submit map proposals, and vote on the constitutional amendment ballot questions.
Incarcerated individuals
Incarcerated persons who were state residents prior to confinement will be counted for redistricting at their last known home address rather than their facility location.
Political parties and candidates
Elected officials, candidates, and political party officers are barred from serving as commissioners, and future maps may not be drawn to favor any political party or incumbent.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who serves on the Independent Redistricting Commission?
How are incarcerated individuals counted under the new redistricting criteria?
What criteria must the commission follow when drawing maps?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Apr 15, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to STATE GOVERNMENT, April 15, 2025
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 63 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transfer of Redistricting Authority
The measure shifts redistricting power from a 5-member legislative leadership commission to an 11-member independent citizen commission bound by strict neutrality criteria.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance90How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
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