Daley to return unvouchered expenses
HARRISBURG – State Rep. Peter J. Daley (D-California) announced Wednesday he would return $5,000 to the taxpayers from last year’s pay raise now that the state’s highest court has ruled the vehicle for the midterm pay increase unconstitutional. Daley has become the third lawmaker known to return his unvouchered expenses since the Supreme Court’s ruling Sept. 14.
The 24-year lawmaker, who’s running for re-election, had donated the money in $20 food vouchers to low-income senior citizens in his district. The money going back to taxpayers would be personal money, he said. The return of the money also negates any pension bump he might have received.
In a press release sent out late Wednesday, Daley said he “thought it was the most practical response to a gray-area issue” on the constitutionality of midterm pay raises. The court struck down unvouchered expenses but said lawmakers were still free to keep the money.
“The Supreme Court has spoken and I am obliged to uphold the ruling,” Daley said in the release. “My initial intention in accepting the pay raise in the first place was because I believed that they could be put to good causes. The charitable donations I made with these funds were a bonus to the citizens in my district.”
Daley, who voted in favor of the pay raise last July, had told The Herald-Standard shortly afterward that he was “not trying to smooth things over” with angry voters by giving the money away.
In December, as dozens of lawmakers caved into the pressure and returned the money, Daley still refused.
“If it’s determined that the unvouchered expense was illegal and we should have never accepted it, I will put the $5,000 back into the state Treasury,” he said at the time.
With the pay raise ruling by the Supreme Court, Daley has done just that.
A total of 71 other lawmakers still haven’t, according to Eric Epstein, coordinator of Rock the Capital.
“Rep. Daley has responded to our challenge and agreed to pay the money back. This is a positive development,” Epstein said. “However, it’s only part of the equation. We’re calling on Rep. Daley to call on legislation mandating repayment.”
Epstein and other reformers have been soliciting the help of a lawmaker to introduce a bill requiring unvouchered expense payback, but have so far gotten no takers. Epstein said the move is particularly important this election year, with at least a fifth of the Legislature retiring or voted out in the primary, because of the way the higher salaries bump pensions.
Daley was unavailable to respond to additional questions.
Three other area lawmakers have not returned the money. They include House Democratic Leader H. William DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) and retiring Rep. Jim Shaner (D-Dunbar), who both said they gave the money to charity, as well as retiring Rep. Larry Roberts (D-South Union Township). All would see their pensions boost by keeping the money; DeWeese only if he’s voted out of office this fall.
The other two lawmakers who have returned the money in the last week are Rep. Alan Butkovitz of Philadelphia and Sen. Michael Stack of Philadelphia.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com.