Some PA citizens call for a constitutional convention

Pay raises and secrecy fuel discontent

By TOM KANE

HARRISBURG, PA — Some citizens’ groups and individuals are calling for a constitutional convention to reverse an alleged pattern of secrecy and poor management by Pennsylvania legislators.

There hasn’t been a convention of this type for 130 years, according to a citizens group called Democracy Rising PA, that maintains an Internet presence at www.democracyrisingpa.com.

Local groups calling for a new convention cite the infamous pay raise that legislators gave themselves in 2005, which was passed in the middle of the night. The raises, which were 30 and 40 percent, were rescinded in a history-setting reversal when the opposition grew to enormous proportion.

Several local newspaper editorials call for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to eliminate the automatic 3.5 percent raise that they gave themselves, which took effect on December 1.

The raises will give the house speaker and the senate president $118,896 in annual pay and rank-and-file legislators $76,163. That does not include the $24,000 in un-vouched expenses each legislator also gets. On January 1, 2008, raises will also be granted to the state’s 1,000 or so judges and top officials in the executive branch.

“Pennsylvania lawmakers rank as the fourth highest paid legislators in the nation,” according to PennLive.com, another citizens’ group that supports a new constitutional convention.

The Democracy Rising PA group praised the work of the Senate’s State Government Committee that held the first of three hearings in Pittsburgh to consider calling for a “citizens’” constitutional convention.

The committee’s chairman, Jeff Piccola, R-Dauphin, said that the body of delegates to the convention should be made up primarily of citizens, rather than political leaders.

Meanwhile, government reform advocate Tim Potts of Democracy Rising PA said he thinks legislators’ pay ought to be based on the quality of laws they pass.

In a separate but related matter, it was recently announced by Pennsylvania Senator Lisa Baker (R-20) that legislation has been introduced in the Senate to address the issue of secrecy in Harrisburg. “The fact that we gave the open-record legislation the designation as Senate Bill 1 is an indication of our strong commitment to government reform and greater public access to information,” Baker said.

“Senate Bill 1 would establish a state office that will be the first point of appeal for disputes and provide regular training to local, county and state officials on how the law is to be applied,” she said.

The new Open Records Clearinghouse would be an independent entity within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).