Capitol Matters: Some lawmakers respond to per diem criticisms

Published: March 14, 2010

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HARRISBURG - With legislative expenses emerging as an issue in this year's competitive races for Senate and House seats in Northeast Pennsylvania, lawmakers are developing their own policies on this matter in advance of any future rewrites of laws or chamber rules.

Rep. John Yudichak, D-119, Nanticoke, raised the profile of the issue last week by announcing legislation requiring lawmakers to submit receipts in order to receive daily expenses,

Mr. Yudichak's measure would end a long-standing practice where lawmakers don't have to submit receipts when they collect up to $163 a day for costs incurred when paying for lodging and meals.

As he unveiled his bill, Mr. Yudichak said he implemented a new policy last month of submitting receipts to the House chief clerk for his own expenses.

Rep. Kevin Murphy, D-113, Scranton, has signed on as a co-sponsor of Mr. Yudichak's bill.

Mr. Murphy has posted receipts for his daily expenses for 2009 and January and February of 2010 on his official Web site (www.pahouse.com/murphy).

"It's all about accountability and transparency," said Mr. Murphy. "Now more than ever we have to protect our public trust. We have to work on that every day."

Rep. Mike Carroll, D-118, Hughestown, has posted his expenses on his Web site at www.pahouse.com/Carroll since shortly after he took office in 2007. His report for 2009 lists $15,480 spent on district office leases in Hughestown and Gilbert; $7,035 on district office maintenance; $6,996 on mileage; $412 on newspapers and books, $1,485 on flags for distribution to constituents and $377 on miscellaneous costs.

Mr. Carroll said he promised voters accountability on his expenses when he first ran for office.

"There's no better way than to post in on the Internet," he added.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Twp. and Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124, Tamaqua; have been submitting receipts for actual expenses instead of taking per diems for some time now.

These individual actions by lawmakers to defuse the per diem issue are reminiscent of a period in the 1990s when a then-widespread practice where lawmakers rented cars for business at public expense came under fire. At that time, many lawmakers rented a car from a dealer in their district and were reimbursed both for the monthly lease up to a cap and mileage as well. With public criticism mounting, more and more lawmakers opted to give up the leased car and take the options available to them today: use a car from the state government's fleet of vehicles or use their own vehicle and claim mileage. "If you can defend it, drive it" became the maxim.

Gas drilling options

While a group of House Democratic lawmakers called again for a moratorium on additional leasing of state forest lands for natural gas drilling until environmental impact studies are done, a Senate committee moved in a different direction last week on the leasing issue.

A measure to allow for mining or removal of minerals, including natural gas, coal, oil and limestone, on a wider range of state-owned land was approved by the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

The Department of General Services would be given authority to presumably lease land on state-owned historic sites, university campuses and welfare institutions under the bill.

Lease revenues would go to support the state environmental stewardship fund.

"SB 1159 simply provides the (leasing) option, one that in certain cases can provide the commonwealth with much needed revenue while giving a boost to our state economy through the creation of new jobs," said Sen. Don White, R-41, Indiana, the sponsor.

ROBERT SWIFT is Harrisburg bureau chief for Times-Shamrock Communications newspapers of which The Daily/Sunday Review is a part. E-mail: rswift@timesshamrock.com.

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1 posted comments

[ Boggles my mind that this article is listed with "Most Commented", yet my comment here is the first one!? ] Anyway, Thank you Jerry Knowles and Lisa Baker. Truely working for the taxpayers and not just for their own self-serving interests like our representatives. Look at Tina Pickett racking up over $4,000 in per diems during budget time and Matt Baker's $6,000 per diem. Aren't they supposed to be the fiscal conservatives? Oh I get it, just with their own money, not the taxpayers! What a joke. And people keep voting them back in and then wonder what's wrong with government.
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Dan West,  03/14/10 8:29