judgesonmerit.org

In his Philadelphia Daily News column, John Baer laments the lack of legislative action on various reform proposals. Baer notes that some reform measures passed, such as the Open Records law, but argues that “these merely bring Pennsylvania a few of the basics of a decent democracy. Efforts at real reform lie dying.”

Baer is correct. We’re approaching the summer recess with many issues still in a holding pattern. Several of these issues require constitutional amendments, which must be passed before the summer recess in order to have enough time for the constitutionally-mandated publication to occur. This includes both legislative redistricting and Merit Selection of appellate judges.

There’s still time left for real reform. Legislative hearings where different groups could discuss Merit Selection would be an excellent step forward. As the pressure to pass the new budget becomes more urgent, its important that our state legislators know that we want reform to stay on the agenda. Tell them it’s not too late.

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