Editorial

Playing political games is not legislating

by Ruth Isenberg

It is time for some real legislating in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is perilously close to once again preventing voters from acting on a constitutional amendment that would provide victims of childhood sexual abuse a retroactive two-year window to sue their abusers in civil court.

The former administration previously derailed the vote on the amendment by failing to meet the required legal advertising deadlines. That failure put the process back to the beginning and the process takes three elections cycles.

Last year, the legislature started the cycle again, and properly advertised the amendment for the first of three elections. It was scheduled to be voted on again this spring at the primary election.

This time, the amendment is bundled with two others, about requiring voter ID and about regulatory reforms. This doesn’t sit well with some people who support the original amendment, but oppose these.

The issue is further complicated by the failure of the representatives to adopt house rules rules which are required in order for the legislature to do business.

All three measures should be voted on by the public. The voters should have the opportunity to decide whether the costs of each measure are justified, and whether or not they should become part of the state constitution.

By playing political games, the legislature is denying the voters the chance to decide. That’s not legislating, and it’s just plain wrong.