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State Legislators for Legal Immigration Files Amicus Brief To Stand with Arizona
02/16/2012
State Government Committee to Consider Measures to Cut Costs, Reform Spending and Improve Government Efficiency
02/14/2012
Metcalfe Legislation To Clamp Down on Copper Wiring Theft Approved by State House
02/08/2012
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Transparent Times
The Transparent Times is a monthly publication of the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee. The committee is chaired by Representative Daryl Metcalfe. 

February 2012 - Transparent Time - Reducing the Size of the State House
As one of its first orders of business for the New Year, the House State Government Committee approved House Bill 153 on January 24. House Bill 153, sponsored by Speaker of the House Sam Smith, would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to reduce the number of legislators in the House of Representatives from 203 members to 153 members.

To read the full text of this publication, click here.

January 2012 - Transparent Time - 2011 Committee Accomplishments and Looking Ahead Through 2012
With the recent passage of Senate Bill 1249, the Congressional Redistricting Act of 2011, the House State Government Committee concluded an active and historic year. In total, the Committee held 38 open and transparent Committee meetings and successfully passed 27 bills to the floor of the House, addressing issues ranging from states’ rights to reducing the regulatory burden of state government on small businesses.

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December 2011 - Transparent Times - Public Integrity Commission
Recently, the House State Government Committee held a public hearing on the issue of public corruption and legislation that would create a Public Integrity Commission. If enacted, HB 1200 (sponsored by Representative Curt Schroder) would replace the State Ethics Commission, which is the agency currently tasked with investigating cases of public corruption.

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November 2011 - Transparent Times - Committee Votes to Protect American Lives, Liberty and Property
With the federal government neglecting to enforce immigration laws, secure our borders, and protect its citizens against an invasion of illegal aliens, state legislatures are forced to address this issue. In 2011 alone, 40 state legislatures have enacted 162 immigration- related laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL). This statistic clearly demonstrates that the illegal alien invasion is a real problem in our great nation and it is not confined to one specific geographic area of the United States.

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October 2011 - Transparent Times - English as Our Official Language
On September 14th, the House State Government Committee held a public hearing on House Bills 361 (Swanger) and 888 (Perry), which would designate English as the official language of the Commonwealth and require official acts of government to be made in English only.

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September 2011 - Transparent Times - National Security Begins at Home
The House State Government Committee held two public hearings August 30 and 31 in Harrisburg to discuss a package of bills aimed at protecting Pennsylvanians from the illegal alien invasion..

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August 2011 - Transparent Times - Reducing the Size of the State Legislature
On August 9, the House State Government Committee will be holding a public hearing in Harrisburg regarding legislation to reduce the size of the state legislature.

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July 2011 - Transparent Times - Selling State Surplus Properties 
The House State Government Committee has oversight regarding the sale of surplus Commonwealth real estate.  Under current law, there are two processes for selling state land.

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June 2011 - Transparent Times -- Holding Government Accountable
Over the past month, the House State Government Committee held a public hearing and a follow-up informational meeting on performance-based budgeting.  House Bill 726, introduced by Rep. Stanley Saylor (R-York), creates the Performance, Accountability and Results Act.

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May 2011 - Transparent Times - Combating Pay-to-Play 
Legislation to combat "pay-to-play" contracting was recently approved by the House State Government Committee.  Pay-to-play is a term used to describe contracting practices in which there is a relationship between the receipt of campaign contributions and the awarding of contracts.

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April 2011 - Transparent Times -- Voter Fraud and TSA Hearings
House Bill 934 requires each voter to present photo identification at every election. The legislation was modeled after Indiana’s photo identification (ID) law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court against a challenge to its constitutionality.

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March 2011 - Transparent Times - IRRC
On February 15, the House State Government Committee, chaired by Representative Daryl Metcalfe, conducted an informational hearing with the staff of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) . The regulatory review process benefits the people of Pennsylvania by ensuring that potentially burdensome regulations are publicized and reviewed. The presentation consisted of a synopsis of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s role in the regulatory review process and a question and answer period.

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February 2011 - Starting The Session Off On The Right Foot
As its first order of business in the 2011-2012 session, the House State Government Committee, chaired by Representative Daryl Metcalfe, tackled government accountability and transparency.

The Committee met to vote on several good government reform measures which will increase transparency, accountability and integrity in the state government. All five bills were unanimously voted out of committee, rapidly adopted on the House floor and advanced to the state Senate for consideration.

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