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New Rules Make Senate More Open and Accessible

When Senator Orie and the new Republican leadership took over in the Senate, their first actions were to change Senate Rules to address the reforms and openness demanded by the voters in the election of 2006.

The rules changes were developed with bipartisan input and are a good first step in the push for greater transparency in the Senate.  The changes are:

• To prevent late-night votes and allow for more deliberation on legislation, Senate sessions are now limited to the hours between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m., and the Senate is now required to wait at least six hours before voting on an amended bill or a conference committee report.
• All proposed amendments to bills are posted to the Internet before being offered on the Senate floor.
• All roll call votes are posted on the Internet no later than 24 hours after a vote and committee votes are posted within 48 hours of the vote.
• The Senate's Legislative Journal – which includes the full text of all floor debates – is posted on the Internet upon Senate approval of the Journal or within 45 days, whichever is earlier.
• A video feed of the Senate's floor action is now available live via the Internet, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) announced. The live video stream is available at www.pasenategop.com by clicking "Watch it live" or www.pasen.gov under "Senate Session Live."
• Finally, an updated fiscal note must be prepared if a bill is amended in the Senate Appropriations Committee and the amendment is expected to have a financial impact

Rules changes were also adopted to save taxpayer money.  Those Rules include:

• Elimination of private vehicle leases for Senators,  
• Abolishment of per diems for Senators who live within 50 miles of the Capitol.
• Prohibiting the use of Senate funds to pay or reimburse for pay for automated telephone calls, or "robo-calls."
• Implementation of a a co-pay on health insurance for all Senators and staff,

Major Reform Legislation Already Passed by the Senate

The Senate passed numerous pieces of legislation designed to reform the system.  Those bills include:

Major Expansion of Opens Records Law Enacted

Legislation to rewrite and strengthen Pennsylvania's 50-year-old Open Records Law, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware), was signed into law.

Senate Bill 1 makes dramatic changes in the records available from various government agencies. For executive agencies and local agencies, Senate Bill 1 reverses the presumption of access to records and puts the burden of proof on a government agency denying access to a record. This was the one change that many advocates of open government consider the most essential. Legislative records and financial records of the judiciary are subject to the same presumption and the same burden of proof.
It provides exceptions for such things as criminal investigations, Social Security Numbers, personal financial information and individual medical records.
Legislative agencies, including the Senate and the House, are required to provide access to 19 categories of records, and judicial agencies are required to provide financial records.  Senate Bill 1 also makes many important improvements to the process of obtaining public records in Pennsylvania, including the creation of an independent Office of Open Records to hear appeals regarding access to records of state and local agencies. Act 3 of 2008

Make Acts and Statutes Internet-Accessible

Sen. Jake Corman (R-Centre) introduced legislation in the current (SB422) and past legislative sessions that would require the Legislative Data Processing Center to place all existing Pennsylvania statutes on its website and make them available to the public. 

Ban State Government Bonuses

The Commonwealth Agency Bonus Ban Act, which would prohibit any Commonwealth agency, including the legislature and the courts, from paying a bonus to any of its employees, was approved by the Senate.
Under Senate Bill 986, sponsored by Sen. John Eichelberger (R-Blair), employees who are paid a bonus after the effective date of the act would be required to reimburse their employer for the full amount of the bonus. An individual who intentionally approves or authorizes a bonus prohibited by the act would commit a third degree misdemeanor. 

Separate State, Federal Judicial Salaries

Senate State Government Committee Chairman Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin) introduced Senate Bill 44 in response to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling last year that partly reinstated a pay raise repealed by legislators. The ruling said only judges should receive the raise, not the legislators or other government employees who originally qualified. The court found the repeal law violated the constitutional provision that prohibits the reduction of compensation during a judge's term in office. As a result, the repealed 2005 pay raise remains in effect for judges, tying their salaries to their federal counterparts.
Senate Bill 44 also includes a provision to raise judicial salaries by $1, bolstering its chances of withstanding a court challenge. (House Bill 10 was amended to include Sen. Piccola's language.) Act 30 of 2007

Stiffer Penalties for Sunshine Law Violations

The reform agenda for Pennsylvania received a significant boost in May, when the Senate approved legislation increasing the fines for Sunshine Law violations. Senate Bill 467 was introduced by Sen. Gib Armstrong (R-Lancaster) in February. The measure was based on a grand jury recommendation arising from an investigation into illegal actions by the Lancaster County Commissioners. The new fine would be up to $1,000 for a first offense, and up to $2,000 for a subsequent offense. The bill also prohibits taxpayer money from being used to pay these fines.

"Salary Information Act"

Legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) to require the posting of governmental salary information on the Internet passed the Senate unanimously May 22. Under Senate Bill 729, known as the Governmental Salary Information Act, the state Treasurer would be required to post salary information for all state employees on an official website.

In addition to state government, local government agencies, including counties, school districts, cities and other municipalities, would be required by Senate Bill 729 to post employee salary information on their own official sites. Local agencies with no website would be required to provide the information in electronic or written form within five days of a request. The state Treasurer would maintain a directory of the local agency sites.  Sen. Pileggi's bill would require the posting of the name, title, agency, salary, and any supplemental payments for each employee. Information for legislative employees would also include the caucus or institution each employee works for. The bill calls for monthly updates.

Create a Do-Not-Call List for Political Robo-Calls

Legislation introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) which would allow Pennsylvanians to stop receiving political robo-calls was approved by the Senate, 48 to 1.  In 1996, Pennsylvania created a Do-Not-Call List for commercial telemarketers. Senate Bill 820 would establish a separate Do-Not-Call List for political robo-calls. As with the existing Do-Not Call List, the Attorney General would be responsible for maintaining the Do-Not-Call List for automated political calls. It would be illegal for any political candidate or organization – including so-called 527 groups – to make an automated political call to any resident who signs up to be on the list. Offenders would be subject to penalties of up to $1,000 per violation.

Ban "Lame Duck" Voting Sessions

The Senate approved a measure introduced by Sen. Bob Regola (R-Westmoreland) calling for a constitutional amendment to eliminate "lame duck" voting sessions -- voting that occurs after a general election and before the start of a new legislative session.
As a proposed amendment to the state Constitution, Senate Bill 468 must be approved in two separate legislative sessions and by the voters as a referendum.

The 26 days between November 4 and November 30 are known as a "lame duck" session because some members of the General Assembly can vote on legislation despite the fact that their successors have already been elected. At least six new members will be elected to the Senate this year, replacing retiring members.

Senator Scarnati has said: "Whether or not the House acts on Senate Bill 468, we will not convene for a regular lame duck session. If some truly extraordinary event necessitates legislative action, we will be ready to act."

Other bills include:

• SB 1015, the Taxpayer-Funded Advertising Transparency Act.
• SB 1201, improving access to, and the information in, state plane logs.
• SB 1499, requiring reporting of state vehicle use.

Senator Orie has introduced several bills to reform state government: 

End No-bid Contracts

In June, the Senate passed Senator Orie's bill to end "pinstripe patronage," the awarding of consulting contracts without competitive bidding.  Senate Bill 903 would require such consultants to publicly disclose campaign contributions and a review of all proposed contracts for conflict of interest, unless the contract is opened up for public competitive bidding.

Other Orie Reform Legislation

Senator Orie has introduced numerous bills designed to give citizens the open, and accountable government they rightfully demand.  See below for a description and a table describing the status of these reform bills:

• prohibit any state agency from using taxpayer dollars to hire a lobbyists to attempt to influence legislation.
• prohibit any elected state official from accepting a paid position within a state agency until at least two years have passed from the expiration of such official's term of office.
• prohibit any elected state official from lending his or her name or likeness to an event designed to raise funds for another individual who is registered as a lobbyist
• require Senate confirmation of all Gaming Board appointees,
• prohibit gaming interests from contributing to any candidate’s political committee at any time.
• Strengthen the Cod of Ethics for the Turnpike Commission