Lawmaker happy salary fight is over
HARRISBURG – Bucks County Sen. Joe Conti said he never wants to go through a pay raise of this sort again – ever again. “I’m glad it’s over,” said the 12-year Republican lawmaker from the Senate floor after the repeal vote on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of contentious fight with the public over top government officials’ salaries, Conti said there’s got to be a better way of handling the issue.
He’s not sure what it is. But he said the answer may lie in tinkering with the Pennsylvania Constitution. Conti’s advocating a multi-year study to look closely at how government officials’ salaries are set – currently the duty of the Legislature – with an eye to possibly make some changes.
“It just may be simply out of date,” he said, noting sections of the compensation law date back to 1874 when the Legislature was unicameral.
Maybe a separate compensation commission could be set up, and maybe there’s a better way of handling unvouchered expenses, he said. The Constitution prohibits lawmakers from taking a pay hike in the same term of office. But it’s unfair for senators, who have staggered terms of office, to not all get the same pay raise at once, he said.
Plus, with the repeal likely to go to court over unanswered constitutional questions, Conti said more definitive language on compensation is needed.
“There’s just too many questions that ultimately are rendered to the courts for decisions, and I think the people of Pennsylvania should ultimately participate in this.”
Conti’s move to the forefront in pay raise reform reflects similar efforts from other lawmakers to trumpet a reformist agenda. Some are calling for a reduction in the size of the Legislature or a move back to a unicameral body, all of which would require going through the lengthy process of changing the constitution. For the constitution to be changed, the Legislature has to vote on the measure in two consecutive terms and put it to the voters for approval.
Conti, who had to give up a $20,000 raise in the repeal, said he’s still supportive of the pay raise because it set salaries to 50 percent that of a U.S. congressman, which he called a reasonable level. In August, he justified his vote in favor of the pay raise by saying “it was the right vote for my district,” because voting ‘no’ might have jeopardized his leadership posts (he’s chairman of Majority Policy and Game and Fisheries committees).
He said he voted for the repeal because the majority of the Legislature felt it was needed.
“It was one of the classic government exercises in compromise,” he said.
But he has no intentions of returning nearly $5,000 in unvouchered expenses.
“I would like to do that but the state Treasury would have to come and get my new water heater,” he said.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com