For a little more than one month now, I have had the honor of representing the residents of the 142^nd legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and I wanted to take some time to update you on what has been going on in Harrisburg.

In my first official action as a legislator, I was able to cast a historic bi-partisan vote electing Republican Dennis O'Brien, the Speaker of the House.  This marked the first time in the history of our Commonwealth that a member of the minority party was elected to serve as the Speaker.  It also served as a momentous step in bringing reform to the forefront of the state legislature.  As one of Speaker O'Brien's first actions, he authorized the creation a bi-partisan reform commission made up of 24 members, 12 from each political party, tasked with reforming the rules by which the House operates.  As part of this process, the Commission offered all House members the opportunity to come before them to present their ideas for reform.  Despite my short time in office, I was offered the chance to be the very first member of the House to testify before the Commission.  During my campaign for state representative, you made clear to me that changes needed to be made and I knew this was an incredible opportunity to bring them forth.  So, I went before the Commission and told them what you had conveyed to me, that state government -- specifically the state legislature – needed to open its doors…to turn on the lights and become more transparent and that you would no longer tolerate anything less than total accountability.  .

In my testimony to the Commission, I advanced the following changes that you had suggested to me; changes that will make the Pennsylvania House of Representatives a more trusted, service-oriented institution in the eyes of all the citizens of our great Commonwealth.  This started with ending the practice known as lame duck session and with it the opportunity to pass unpopular – sometimes mischievous - legislation.  Other reforms I proposed included:   Forbidding members from claiming per diem payments for travel more than 60 days past, requiring sessions of the House to occur between the hours of 8am and 11:00pm, requiring all bills scheduled to be voted on to be posted on the Internet the Friday before the scheduled vote and allowing for public comment on each bill, placing term limits on Committee chairs, requiring the electronic roll call of all votes taken to be posted on the Internet within 24 hours of the vote, and a restructuring and more prominent role of the Ethics Committee.

During this first month, I have also been as personally accountable to the taxpayers as I possibly can.  As I previously stated, I am donating this year's legislative cost of living increase (just over $100 dollars a month) to a scholarship fund for graduating high school students, I have not collected a single dollar of the $148 a day per diem payments (saving taxpayers $2,368 for the 16 days I spent in Harrisburg during the month of January) and in addition, by leasing a car from the state fleet for $244 a month, rather than collecting 48.5 cents a mile, I have saved taxpayers an additional several hundred dollars. 

I have worked very hard my first month in office not only to bring about changes in the system, but also to be a fiscal steward of your hard earned tax dollars.  I realize that I am only in this position because you have put your trust in me to represent you.  I am both honored and humbled to serve as your state representative.  If you have any thoughts, questions or concerns about a state-related matter, please feel free to call (215) 752-6750, contact me through my website: www.pahouse.com/king or stop by my office located at 1239 Wood Lane in Langhorne.