Reaching for Reform

A column by Senator Bob Regola, 39^th Senatorial District

In 2007, the General Assembly began to put into place some solid and essential reforms, but the job is not done.

When I ran for the Senate, I campaigned on a platform of reform.  The first measure I introduced was 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. 

In the past, lame duck sessions have been used to vote on volatile issues such as tax increases, fee increases and pay raises.  Banning lame duck sessions by legislators whose terms are about to expire and won’t return to office the coming year, is an essential way to ensure that legislators are accountable to their constituents.  The Senate passed this legislation in June, but the bill has since languished in a House Committee.

In the meantime, the Senate put into place a new set of rules intended to make the legislative process more open to the public.  Under the rules:

• Session times are limited between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.

• Amendments are posted on the legislature’s home page -- www.legis.state.pa.us -- before being offered on the Senate floor. 

• There is a wait of least six hours before voting on an amended bill.

• All roll call votes are posted on the Internet within 24 hours of a vote.

• All committee votes are posted on the Internet within 48 hours of a vote.

• The Legislative Journal -- which includes the full text of all floor debates -- are posted on the Internet within 45 days.

• Amended bills receive update fiscal notes.

While these rules have provided the public more access to General Assembly, an overhaul of Pennsylvania’s archaic Open Records Law is in order.  Senate Bill 1 would enact the premise that all state and local government records are open to the public, unless specified otherwise.  Changing this premise addresses the most serious flaw in current law.  The phrase ‘right to know’ must have real meaning in the way the law is written and carried out by government officials.  The General Assembly is poised to pass this reform when it returns in January.

There are a lot of reforms that have been proposed -- term limits, a smaller legislature, and constitutional conventions.  However none would guarantee against a bad budget.  We need fiscal restraint and the Taxpayer Protection Act -- a Constitutional Amendment to limit state spending to the rate of inflation -- continues to be my top priority.  For too long, Pennsylvania’s spending has exceeded inflation.  Where has this gotten us?  The answer is simply behind. 

That’s because Pennsylvania, unlike 27 other states, places no limits on spending.  My legislation, Senate Bill 7, would put into place common sense spending limits based on inflation and population growth, with any surplus revenues going to shore up the Rainy Day Fund and ultimately to return money to the taxpayer.  It is my hope that the Senate will make this legislation its number one priority in 2008.

This session, I have had the privilege of serving as the Chairman of the Senate Local Government Committee.  I have been coordinating the General Assembly’s efforts to provide municipalities with greater flexibility when it comes to purchasing.  It has been 17 years since we last updated the levels at which local governments must go through the formal purchasing process.  As a former township supervisor, I know how cumbersome the purchasing process is.  If we want local governments to operate more like a business, we need to provide them with the flexibility they need to do their jobs. 

The Committee has also been working with the Senate Labor and Industry Committee to address the Uniform Construction Code (UCC).  As we have seen so many times in the past, the “one-size-fits-all” approach rarely works and the UCC is a classic example.  The UCC puts even relatively minor projects, such as erecting small decks, under the scrutiny of building inspectors and code enforcement officers.  This is too much government intervention and only increases the costs for small businesses and residents. Since it went into effect, the UCC has been amended eight times -- including a bill I introduced to eliminate a mandate on foundation bracing that was originally aimed at hurricane or earthquake prone regions in the U.S.

To help our first-responders, I led the effort to renew a $25 million grant program for volunteer fire and EMS providers to purchase equipment, facility upgrades, or training.  Rather than renewing the program on an annual basis, this important grant program was renewed for five years.

Over the past year, the Senate has taken several steps to reform and improve government.  I am pleased to play a part in this effort and am looking to bringing about more changes in 2008.

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Contact:  Nate Silcox (717) 787-6063