Contact Information

Address

Institute for Public Affairs
840 Anderson Hall
         1114 Polett Walk
         Philadelphia, PA 19122

Address

(215) 204-1600

Address

ipa@temple.edu

News

April 30, 2012

The Temple Papers on the Pennsylvania General Assembly- Volume III

The Rules of the Game: How the Constitution Affects Lawmaking in Pennsylvania

March 26, 2012

The Institute for Public Affairs introduces The Temple Papers on the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a five-volume series that aims to assist the our legislature in representing citizens, making laws, and balancing the other branches. See below for the announcement of the papers and Volumes I and II of the series.  Other volumes will be published on the IPA website shortly.

Letter Announcing The Temple Papers on the General Assembly

Volume I: The Pennsylvania General Assembly Before and After the 1968 Legislative Modernization Commission: The Evolution of an Institution

Volume II: The Pennsylvania General Assembly's Greatest Achievements and the Parties' Roles in Enacting Important Laws: 1968-2008

December 16, 2011

Report: The Pennsylvania General Assembly Before and After the 1968 LegislativeModernization Commission: The Evolution of an Institution

Joseph P. McLaughlin, Jr., PhD, Director, Institute for Public Affairs

This brief history of the Pennsylvania General Assembly focuses on its institutional evolution around a key turning point: the bipartisan, bicameral vote to move from a part-time to a full-time legislature in 1968. This topic was the subject of a February 28, 2011, symposium for House and Senate members in the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

November 22, 2011

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Temple's University's Institute for Public Affairs in collaboration with Temple University's Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project has just released:

"Why the Conventional Wisdom about Reapportionment Reform May Be Wrong: The Case of 'Safe' and 'Competitive' State Senate Districts in Southeastern Pennsylvania"

This policy report focuses on the constitutionally mandated legislative reapportionment undertaken every ten years following the decennial Census. It exploresthe competing factors that come into play when legislators draw newdistrict lines and considers the practical implications thatwould accompany maximizing the competitive vote in the region.

October 25, 2011

The Rules of the Game: The Constitution and the Lawmaking Process

Research Note: Constitutional Constraints on Lawmaking

Presented and Provided at the Pennsylvania General Assembly Members' Symposium

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Policy Forum

February 28, 2011

Presentation: The Pennsylvania General Assembly Before and After the 1968 Legislative Modernization Commission: A Brief History

Presented to the Pennsylvania General Assembly Members’ Symposium

Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Policy Forum

December 2, 2010

The Temple Municipal Governance Survey: How Pennsylvanians View Their Local Governments, including comments on the results of Allegheny County's Deliberative Democracy Poll

April 6, 2010

Testimony delivered on PA General Assembly HB 260, proposed legislation on abolishing the PA Senate, House Democratic Policy Committee, given by IPA Director, Joseph P. McLaughlin

March 26, 2010

Thoughts on Pennsylvania Political Reforms, panel talk delivered at the 2010 Pennsylvania Political Science Association Conference by IPA Director, Joseph P. McLaughlin

March 23, 2010

On March 23, 2010, the Institute for Public Affairs welcomed students and guests for a discussion on the current and future role of the Republican Party in Philadelphia city politics.

Special guests included:

  • Michael Meehan-
    Meehan is Counsel to the Republican City Committee since 1994 and leader of the Philadelphia GOP, the third generation of Meehans to have led the GOP since Mayor Barney Samuel. Barney Samuel was the city's last Republican Mayor, from 1941 to 1952.
  • Sam Katz
    Katz is a Philadelphia businessman and politician, who had three unsuccessful attempts at the Mayor's office as the Republican candidate. He ran in 1991, 1993 and 2003.
  • Al Schmidt
    The Republican candidate for City Controller in 2009, Schmidt is the former Executive Director of the Republican City Committee. He was recently hired by state Republican Committee Chairman Rob Gleason as "senior advisor" to the state Republican Party.

See the story from the Temple Times.

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