Jul 28, 2011 2 min read

If the crooked public officials from Pennsylvania who have paraded into court have performed a public service, it is in demonstrating conclusively that secrecy breeds corruption.

Former Luzerne County judges Michael T. Conahan and Mark A. Ciavarella, who received $2.8 million in bribes and kickbacks from developers of juvenile detention centers, relied on the inherent secrecy of the juvenile courts to carry out their scheme.

Former Lackawanna County Commissioners Robert C. Cordaro and A.J. Munchak, who await sentencing on corruption charges, operated the government as a personality cult. They designated Cordaro as sole authority in some cases, eschewed bidding whenever they could, and conducted hearings on important public business after cutting deals.

Several former leaders of the state Legislature are in prison, several more await trials, including state Rep. Bill DeWeese (D-Waynesburg) and others, who are under investigation. Some have relied on convoluted procedures and self-serving rules that preclude the same level of disclosure required from other parts of the government.

It’s good news, then, that the Legislature unanimously has passed, and Gov. Tom Corbett has signed, a new state law requiring all state spending to be posted online. The new law mandates creation next year of the Pennsylvania Web Accountability, Transparency and Contract Hub, Penn-WATCH.

The site will include compensation data for every state employee, which by itself should eliminate a repeat of the ongoing Bonusgate scandal, in which legislative staffers were paid with public funds for campaign work.

Beyond fighting corruption, the site can help make for more efficient governance. Since it will list every contract, for example, contractors who might not have been aware of opportunities will be able to increase competition and improve services and costs.

The site also will include all state revenue, from every source.

Under the law, the site must be up and running by Jan. 1, 2013.

The bill has been under development for several years. Its passage makes Pennsylvania the 37th state to make all of its revenue and spending data readily available.

That it passed unanimously demonstrates that good governance is possible even in a politically volatile era.

The News-Item (Shamokin)