Legislative leaders keep expense records secret
Open-records law could release clear summaries of tax-paid costs
April 10, 2008
By JAN MURPHY
Of The Patriot-News
HARRISBURG — Even with a calculator, it is time-consuming and tedious to figure out how much state legislators charge to taxpayers for expense accounts.
But if you ask Rep. Sue Helm, R-Susquehanna Twp., she will make available a report that lays out her $10,403 expenses incurred between Dec. 1 and March 30 in neat categories.
It's the same with Rep. Scott Perry, R-Dillsburg, whose summary report shows he charged $20,435 during the same time span. The bulk of the money both spent went for mailings and office leases.
Helm's and Perry's summaries provide easily understandable snapshots of what they have charged to taxpayers to conduct their legislative business. But legislative leaders have not considered those reports public record.
Instead, the legislator expense records they make available list expenses individually with no final tally. They also might not provide the full picture, since members can charge expenses to leadership accounts that each caucus leader controls and oversees.
Helm's and Perry's expense summaries reflect charges made to their member accounts and to the chief clerk's account. Neither indicated any expenses charged to the leadership accounts.
The House and Senate chief clerks' offices, which operate at legislative leaders' direction, denied requests for copies of the reports called "summary report of voucher activity" in the House, and "management reports" in the Senate. Officials from those offices said the documents are for internal use.
That directive to keep them private was enough to convince Rep. RoseMarie Swanger, R-North Lebanon Twp., that she should not release her summary. Her aide said the clerk's office told her "we shouldn't give those out." Swanger was the only one of six lawmakers asked who didn't volunteer the information.
Neither Helm nor Perry understands why the reports aren't public.
"Whatever I spend, the public should know because it's their money, not mine," Helm said.
Under the state's new open-records law that takes effect Jan. 1, 2009, financial records of legislative activity are to be available to the public.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said she can't see any reason why that law wouldn't apply to the financial summaries and questions why the House and Senate leadership would not make them available now.
Steve Miskin, a spokesman for House Republicans, and spokesmen for other legislative leaders said they will discuss making the reports available or perhaps change the format of the expense data that is available to make the information as transparent as it is on the summaries provided to members.
"There is nothing about the information in these forms that should be confidential," said Tim Potts, co-founder of Democracy Rising PA. "We're paying for it."
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