Letter to the editor: Stop legislators' power grab

The Pennsylvania General Assembly is among the largest, most expensive legislative bodies in the country. At the same time, it is one of the least effective in passing bills favored by its citizens.

Now it wants to bypass the democratic process altogether with amendments to the state Constitution. They submit these amendments in low-turnout, off-year elections with little discussion, review or transparency. They know the public almost always votes yes for amendments, and they word the amendments accordingly. This is an unethical legislative grab for power. They are seeking single-party rule by eliminating the checks and balances among the branches, and that is not how democracies function.

The General Assembly is using these constitutional amendments to circumvent the bill-writing and vetting processes of bipartisan cooperation, compromise and collaboration. They want to bypass the executive and judicial branches of government because they are occupied by Democrats. The resulting laws can be extremely radical, not represent the will of the people and demonstrate undemocratic governance.

Do not let them succeed in this power grab. We want reproductive freedom, expansion of voting rights, separation and balance of governmental power and no legislative meddling in our elections. Regulations may be undesirable to the lawmakers’ donor class, but they are the safeguard of the middle class.

Sandy Kremer

Youngwood