PHILADELPHIA, March 12 – State Rep. Babette Josephs, chairwoman of the House State Government Committee, said the committee will hold two public hearings in Philadelphia this week.

The first hearing, on legislation to change the redistricting process (H.B.s 81, 84 and 2047), will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 13 in the Irvine Auditorium of the University of Pennsylvania.

The agenda will be as follows:
10 a.m. -- Rep. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery
10:20 a.m. -- Rep. Steve Samuelson, D-Northampton/Lehigh
10:40 a.m. -- Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila.
11 a.m. -- Kenneth Myers, vice president, Jewish Social Policy Action Network
11:20 a.m. -- Sara Steelman, chairwoman, Common Cause, Pennsylvania
11:40 a.m. -- Andrea Mulrine, president, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania
Noon -- Nathaniel Persily, law professor, Columbia Law School
12:20 p.m. -- Dennis Baylor, Pennsylvania Accountability Project.

The second hearing, on legislation to allow 17-year-olds vote in the primary election (H.B. 520), will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, Friday, March 14 in the Grand Hall Overlook of the National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.

Friday's hearing agenda will be as follows:
10 a.m. -- Rep. Richard T. Grucela, D-Northampton
10:20 a.m. -- Tom Weaver, deputy secretary for administration, Pennsylvania Department of State
10:40 a.m. -- Julia Hazlet and Luke Secosky, students at Fox Chapel High School, and Jennifer Klein, teacher advisor at the school
11 a.m. -- Dr. Richard O. Coe, executive director, Kids Voting Southeast PA
11:20 a.m. -- Maricela Metraux and Isabel Ricker, students at Julia R. Masterman High School
11:40 a.m. -- Tara Young, Fair Vote
Noon -- Jessica Serdikoff and Kayode Ogunsola, students at Cheltenham High School.