Feb 7, 2007 4 min read

Here’s a pop quiz to test your general knowledge of the Pennsylvania Legislature: When a recent audit showed that the surplus in legislative accounts had grown to a whopping $215 million of your tax money, the call to slash those reserves by $75 million, putting that amount toward property tax relief, came from: A. Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Bob Mellow.

B. Senate Republicans, led by Sens. Joe Scarnati and Dominic Pileggi.

C. House Republicans, led by Rep. Sam Smith.

D. House Democrats, led by local Rep. H. William “Bill” DeWeese.

If you guessed “D,” as in House Democrats and “DeWeese,” please put on your dunce cap and move to the back of the room. You obviously haven’t been paying attention to anything for the past year and a half – or else you’re one of the lucky people on his payroll who recently got a big bonus from Bill for your stellar staff work in 2006.

If you guessed “A” as in Senate Democrats, or “C” as in House Republicans, you’re getting warmer but still can’t claim a passing grade in this civics class. House Republicans traditionally aren’t much better than House Democrats when it comes to pushing for reforms (see, “Perzel, John” for a fuller explanation.) And Senate Democrats, while seemingly more enlightened than House leaders of either party, aren’t breaking any new ground.

That leaves the correct answer: “B” as in Senate Republicans. Perhaps jolted into a firmer awareness of the public pulse by last year’s defeat of leaders Bob Jubelirer and Chip Brightbill, Senate Republicans, who control the upper chamber, have jumped into the vanguard of the reform movement with a fury that should make citizens of all political persuasions take notice.

Scarnati, the new president pro tempore of the Senate, and Pileggi, the new Senate majority leader, did the right thing when they found out about a secret bonus system operating in all four caucuses. They promptly ended the practice, as far as Senate Republicans are concerned. We’re still waiting for House Democrats, including those who just last year billed themselves as champions of the blue-collar working class and touted their big success in raising the minimum wage, to follow suit.

One of those was DeWeese, who, according to a recent news report, used $32,000 of his “special leadership account” money to pay a part-time chauffeur to drive him around the 50th District last year. (By the way, DeWeese, who likes to tout the fact that he doesn’t use a state vehicle, also collected $20,000 in mileage reimbursement.)

If we had our way, Scarnati and Pileggi’s proposal would slash the bloated legislative accounts by $75 million plus $32,000, adding the amount of your tax money that DeWeese wastes by paying a driver. If state Reps. Peter J. Daley II, Timothy S. Mahoney and Deberah Kula don’t need or qualify for drivers, why does DeWeese? Their districts are just as large, population wise, and it’s far-fetched to think that DeWeese is just so much busier as Majority (or Minority, as the case may be) Leader than any of them that he needs someone to take the wheel.

Although none should be needed, this is further proof that the Legislature, which increased its own spending by 9 percent last year, has run amok when it comes to letting its leaders live in the lap of luxury. Senate Republicans are also correct in calling for more thorough audits of legislative accounts, something that’s long overdue.

There’s no reason that legislative accounts should be sitting on a $215 million reserve, built up by $13 million annual contributions to each of the four caucuses. Unless they plan to continue operating past the end of the world, they should each agree to a cap equivalent to $13 million, or whatever is needed to guarantee one year of frugal operation.

Senate Republicans “get it” when it comes to the public’s demand for transparency and accountability.