Pennsylvania's Legislature needs to get a lot bigger - not smaller, as some propose - in order to become more cost efficient.

A proposal to shrink Pennsylvania's 253 legislative districts down to 151 drew some praise today at a hearing in Pittsburgh, where lawmakers and gubernatorial hopeful Lynn Swann said it would make the state more cost efficient.

"By allowing the people of Pennsylvania to decide the size of our General Assembly, we can confront the growing cynicism about the work of state government," Swann testified today.

State Sen. John Pippy, who authored the proposed reduction in Senate Bill 890, said, "We can't just do business as usual and expect things to get better. We have to shake up the whole system."

I agree with his premise, but disagree on the downsizing.

Sure it sounds good now, but do you really expect the remaining lawmakers will lower our taxes? The state had a near $1 billion surplus last year and I know I didn't get a rebate check. Instead, renters like me got a tax hike.

All this means is we'll have 102 less yahoos deciding how to divvy up the $500 million the Legislature spends annually on itself.

And of course, that would also mean more Walking Around Money for the 151 lucky folks who still have a chair to sit in when the polka stops. I can only assume Pippy probably doesn't think he'll be one of the 102 former lawmakers out looking for work, probably as lobbyists (as if the capitol needs more of them).

At that rate, they'd just be rearrangeing deck chairs on the good ship Titanic.

Instead, I propose we do precisely the opposite. Let's add seats - say about 12.4 million of them.

Any reduction in the Legislature's size would take an amendment to the state Constitution - a time consuming and difficult process. If you're going to open up that can of worms anyway, let's give Pennsylvanians more say in their government - not less.

Here's a few ideas:

Initiative and referendum are not cities in Italy. Yet, even everyday Romans 2,000 years ago had more of a say in their government than we do now (Et tu, Brute?). Why not let the public suggest bills and actually get them on the ballot? The voters certainly can't do much worse than what their elected representatives have done in their stead so far.

Mandate true lobbying reform, not just an election year whitewash. (We're still the only state without a disclosure law.)

Set at least some campaign spending and contribution limits for crying out loud. Right now a rich donor can buy whatever he wants in this state - from legalized slot machine gambling, to huge tax benefits. It's still a House (and a Senate) for sale, no matter how many seats are in it.

Give independent and third-party candidates a fair shot. It's simply unAmerican to force someone who isn't a Republican or Democrat to gather more signatures than their opponents, especially given the failure of both major parties to get even one-quarter of the voting public to the polls in most elections. The playing field should be level.

Make the budgeting process more transparent and accountable by posting a true line-item budget - down to the dollar - on the Web for the public to read and COMMENT on. Even the Luzerne County commissioners - no fans of the state's Sunshine Act when I covered them - were forced into having real budget hearings.

Eliminate the Legislature's Sunshine Act and Open Records Law exclusions. What good is having fewer folks doing the public's work, if they can still do it behind closed doors and not tell us what they spend money on?

Finally, eliminate the backdoor maneuvering that let House and Senate leaders ignore the public, bully their membership and disregard the state Constitutionally-mandated three-day waiting/public airing period to pass a law.

Even the National Rifle Association would agree that it's actually easier in Pennsylvania to quietly pass an unpopular or controversial law than to buy a handgun.

Without those loopholes, legislative leaders would not have been able to foist upon us the 2004 slots law, last year's legislative pay grab, the watered-down version of a lobbying disclosure bill the House passed this year, not to mention a secret pay hike for township supervisors.