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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Lauren Rooney |
State
Rep. John Galloway
State Rep. Chris King D-Bucks County
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To: Mr. Guy Petroziello, Editorial/Opinion Page Editor
From: State Reps. John Galloway and Chris King, D-Bucks
Subject: Editorial on the Pennsylvania Citizens Compensation Commission
Please publish the following editorial by state Rep. John Galloway and Rep. Chris King on their proposed Pennsylvania Citizens Compensation Commission to review legislative compensation packages. If you need more information, please contact Lauren Rooney at 717-787-7895 or by e-mail at lrooney@pahouse.net.
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The fox is guarding the henhouse in Harrisburg.
Legislators, unlike any other employee in the state, set their own pay and benefits. Many of our constituents see our salary and benefits package as excessive and wonder how they came to be. They see a conflict of interest with lawmakers deciding their own compensation. As responsible citizens, they ask for explanations.
Yet legislative compensation is a problem that isn’t even on the radar screen for many “reform” legislators.
A few short months ago, House members adopted historic changes to House rules, making the legislative body more transparent and accountable.
The transparency comes with our new open records rule that gives the people of Pennsylvania access to all House expenses, including payroll information. We ended the practice of middle-of-the-night voting sessions and now stream live video of House proceedings on our Web site (www.pahouse.com).
If we are to be truly transparent and accountable, then we need to take a serious look at legislative pay and benefits – what they are and how they are determined.
Currently, legislative leaders make these decisions. That should not be the case. The citizens of Pennsylvania, who pay our salaries, should have the ultimate say on compensation for their elected officials.
That is why we are both working to shed light on this important issue and make it a top reform priority.
We testified before a Reform Commission hearing in Philadelphia recently, calling for the establishment of a Pennsylvania Citizens Compensation Commission.
The seven-member panel would be appointed by the governor to serve overlapping six-year terms. It would include wage and compensation experts from business, nonprofit and union organizations who understand the dynamics of pay and benefits.
They would meet once a year to review legislative compensation. The panel would then report to the people of Pennsylvania how they determined what legislative pay and benefits should be. Their decision would be binding.
We encourage our fellow “reformers” in the House to step up to the plate and support this compensation commission.
It is a big responsibility being an elected official, and we are not opposed to fair compensation for a fair day's work. We and our fellow lawmakers work very hard dealing with important legislation in Harrisburg, and helping our constituents deal with state-government-related problems back home. It takes intelligence, commitment and dedication to bring quality service to constituents. Finding the best and the brightest to serve in state government means offering decent pay and benefits. Our concern is that legislative compensation has gone above and beyond “a fair day’s pay” and has slipped into the realm of excessive.
The Pennsylvania Citizens Compensation Commission would bring additional transparency to the inner workings of state government and, most importantly, give the people of Pennsylvania a clearer perspective and stronger voice in how their tax dollars are spent.
If the state House is going to be truly transparent, then we cannot stop at simply posting our votes and expenses on a Web site. We need to open up our compensation packages to scrutiny.
State Reps. John Galloway and Chris King respectively represent the 140th and 142nd Legislative Districts in Bucks County.
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