The kinda evening for a mug of coffee, no? New snow’s on the ground, feels like Canada’s Northwest Territories out there, kids off from school. Fire up the brewmaster!
Hold onto your WiFi, there are some veddy veddy entertaining interesting debates going on in Harrisburg to start the week off:
If you think state lawmakers earn too much for their own good - base salary of $78,315 for rank-and-file members, more for legislative leaders - then your interest should be piqued by a proposed law that would limit how much a legislator can make outside of their government pay.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by excellent Capitol reporter Tom Barnes:
Now state Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, wants to limit how much outside income a legislator can earn.
He has introduced a bill to restrict House and Senate members from earning more than 35 percent of their base state salary as outside income.
A number of legislators have outside jobs. Some are lawyers back home. Some work for law firms that have lobbying divisions, which urge lawmakers to vote certain ways on important issues.
Some people wonder why legislators need an outside income when their taxpayer-provided salaries are far more than most Pennsylvanians make.
“My bill would limit members from working in positions outside the Legislature,” Mr. DeLuca said. “In Pennsylvania, lawmakers are paid a full-time salary for full-time work.”
One of the reasons to limit outside income, he said, “is because outside jobs tend to create a conflict of interest. Our main job as elected officials is to serve the public … not private legal, business or other concerns.”
But before you get too excited, just remember: If DeLuca’s bill is to become law, the Legislature would have to approve it. What do you think the chances are that a majority of 253 people would say: “Sure, I’ll limit my ability to earn income.”
Not gonna happen.
Next up is the Guv.
Gov. Ed Rendell has struck at the heart of the Legislature with a fiscal arrow. He’s proposing to eliminate a grant program formerly known as Walk Around Money or WAMs, money lawmakers could secure for projects in their home districts. WAMs are among the most heated topics in Harrisburg between those who see what’s clearly pork barrel legislation as a good thing - bringing taxpayer money back to the community for economic development - and those who abhor the practice as a waste of taxpayer funds.
From the Lebanon Daily News (former employer of your Nest writer):
Though Rendell’s budget plan zeroes out the WAMs, it doesn’t mean they will be scrapped in the final budget. The final 2009-10 budget, which should be in place by July 1, will largely be the product of closed-door negotiations between Rendell and legislative leaders.
Legislative leaders say it’s too soon to say if the grants will be restored this year, while rank-and-file legislators offer various predictions. Some say they should be eliminated this year because of the budget crunch.
State’s facing a $2.3 billion shortfall in revenue compared to costs. If there ever was a year to eliminate WAMs, this would bit, which should please government reform advocates. But how much faith do you have in Harrisburg to cut this kind of spending?
And finally, we come to Republican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe from western Pennsylvania
You may remember Rep. Metcalfe as the leader of “Invasion PA,” a group of lawmakers (state Rep. Tom Creighton included) who demanded reform of U.S. immigration laws because, according to them, illegal immigrants had been responsible for a large number of violent crimes. When you looked closer, however, what Metcalfe was citing were statistics which included “alleged” crimes, not actual convictions. HUGE difference.
You can always count on a … ahem … strong message from Metcalfe. He’s not one for subtleties whether its the floor of the House during a debate or in a press release. And he’s back now with the “No Representation for Taxation” petition.
From his news release:
“Just as we did with the successful repeal of the 2005 state government pay raise, we are returning to the grassroots to drive home the message that state lawmakers must put all Taxpayers First by providing No Representation for Increased Taxation,” said Metcalfe. “Based upon his most recent spend, spend, spend public comments, No Representation for Increased Taxation is a message Governor Rendell is still not receiving.”
Starting today at RepMetcalfe.com, and very soon on various other State Representative web sites, concerned Pennsylvania taxpayers can sign the NO Tax Increase petition electronically or download and print out a hard copy to collect signatures from friends, family members and co-workers.
<snip>
“Once again, what the governor’s most recent scripted, whining and over-emotional on camera performances confirm is that he is a Spend-A-Holic desperately in need of treatment,” said Metcalfe. “Today, we are here to unveil a tool that any Pennsylvania taxpayer can use to intervene at a time where the governor clearly does not to want to admit that his administration is in fact the economic disaster that is largely responsible for creating our state’s more than $2 billion budget deficit. Today, we are here to provide every Pennsylvania citizen with an easy-to-use tool that could not only save them from even greater economic hardship, in the form of massive tax increases, but a convenient one-stop opportunity to call on every elected Republican and Democrat state lawmaker to put Taxpayers First!”
See what a I mean? That’s a new one, by the way, I haven’t heard yet. Housing foreclosures, job cuts, frozen credit market, deflated consumer spending, Ed Rendell. Wonder why John McCain didn’t cite the Guv during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Update: Don’t forget to vote in this poll about whether Millersville University should cancel Bill Ayers’ lecture scheduled for March 19.
