PA Government

Civics – Chapter 13

Legislative Branch (General Assembly)

• Federal level: Congress • State level: General Assembly• The General Assembly is bicameral (2 houses)

– State House of Representatives (203 reps.)– State Senate (50 senators)– Districts are all equal based on POPULATION

• Senators must be at least 25 years old• Reps. must be at least 21 years old

PA State Senate Districts• 1 state senator = ~240,000 people

1 state representative = ~ 60,000 people

Our State Senator and Representative

• State Senator– John Eichelberger – Republican– 30th Senate District

• State Representative– John McGinnis– Republican– 79th House District

How a PA bill becomes law

• Bill-making process very similar to US Congress

• Bill starts out as idea• Introduced and drafted in committee• Debated on floor of one house• Sent to other house and debated• Revised in conference committee• Sent to Governor – signed or vetoed

One Important Note

• The PA legislature cannot make any laws that go against federal laws or the Constitution.

• If so, the US Supreme Court can eliminate them with ________ _________.

Budget Issue for States

• Recently, many state legislatures (inc. PA) do not have the money to fund projects– Three possibilities:

• Raise taxes to get more money• Cut programs to save money• Borrow money from federal

government

The PA Executive Branch

• Head of exec branch = governor• Current governor is Tom Corbett (R)• Qualifications

– 30 years of age– Resident of PA for 5 years– American citizen

• If governor leaves office, the lieutenant governor takes over (like VP)

Governor’s Responsibilities

• Chief executive – in charge of PA agencies and departments

• Chief legislator – proposes laws and signs or vetoes legislation by Gen. Assembly

• Commander in chief of PA national guard

• State Party Leader (currently for Republicans)

Other roles of Governor

• Pardon = forgiveness from crime• Commute = reduction in prison sentence• Parole = early release from prison

– Can be made by governor– Usually done by committees of prison officials

The PA Judicial Branch

• Jurisdiction deals only with Pennsylvania Law• Can be grouped into two types of groups:

– Higher Courts (criminal/civil cases + appeals)• General trial courts• Appellate courts• State Supreme Court

– Lower Courts (minor offenses)• Municipal courts• Traffic courts, juvenile courts, magistrate courts

PA vs. U.S. Supreme Court

• PA Supreme Court has the power of judicial review over PA laws only.

• The PA Supreme Court is NOT necessarily the last stopThe case can then go to the US Supreme Court in

Washington, DC.