A recent amendment to a Pennsylvania House of Representatives bill threatens an effort to reduce the size of the House just before the bill nears the end of its four-year road to final approval.

Last week, the House's Rules Committee added to the bill a reduction to the state Senate. The original bill, if passed, would allow voters to decide whether to reduce the number of state representatives from 203 to 151. The amendment adds in a reduction of the Senate from 50 to 38.

Besides dissuading state senators, such a change to the state's constitution requires an identically worded bill to pass in two consecutive two-year legislative sessions. Changing the language of the bill with the amendment means kicking it down the road again to the legislature's next session, at the least.

To representatives supporting the bill, like its primary sponsor state Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124th, the amendment was a move to kill the bill's chances of passing. Knowles represents parts of Berks, Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

“It's typical Harrisburg shenanigans,” Knowles said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Knowles said what shocked him were several representatives who formerly voted for the bill moving to amend and jeopardize it in the committee vote.

“This has been a three-and-a-half year process,” Knowles said. “They voted on this thing seven times. We are one vote away. I'm very disappointed, particularly, in the people who voted to blow this thing up in rules.”

Read Wednesday's Butler Eagle to find out what the area's state representatives think.