Senate GOP Pushes Cut in Legislative Surplus; Excess Funds Directed to Property Tax Relief

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-Delaware) today announced a plan to slash legislative reserves by at least $75 million.

The Republican leaders proposed using the savings to bolster the Property Tax Relief Fund and will introduce a bill to do so in the coming weeks.

A recent audit of legislative accounts found that as of June 30, 2006, legislative reserves had grown to about $215 million, according to Legislative Audit Advisory Commission.

"We've examined the recent audit of the legislature's accounts and believe that the reserve levels have grown too large," Scarnati said. "Some reserve funds are necessary so that the General Assembly can continue to operate in the event of a protracted budget process, but we should cut the surplus and dedicate the excess funds to property tax cuts."

"Cutting the legislative surplus to a reasonable level is the right thing to do," said Pileggi. "Our caucus believes in fiscal restraint, and that includes how we manage our own accounts."

The Senate Republican leaders also called for more thorough audits of legislative accounts going forward.

This announcement comes after a broad range of legislative reforms already adopted by the Senate Republican Caucus in recent months, including:

Limiting session times to between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Posting amendments to the Internet before they can be offered on the Senate floor.
Waiting at least six hours before voting on an amended bill or a conference committee report.
Posting all roll call votes on the Internet immediately after the votes, always within 24 hours.
Posting committee votes on bills, resolutions and executive nominations on the Internet within 48 hours.
Posting the Senate's Legislative Journal -- which includes the full text of all floor debates -- on the Internet upon Senate approval of the Journal or within 45 days, whichever is earlier.
Preparing an updated fiscal note if a bill is amended after consideration by the Senate Appropriations Committee, if the amendment has a fiscal impact.
Ending the practice of giving bonuses to legislative staffers.

Other major government reform initiatives announced by Senate Republicans include:

Strengthening the state's Open Records Law by including the legislature's financial records, judicial financial records, PHEAA and state-related universities; allowing requests to be submitted by email; and making other improvements.
Broadcasting Senate sessions via streaming video feeds over the Internet.

"Senate Republicans are leading the way on government reform issues in Pennsylvania," said Scarnati. "And we know that our job is not finished – we will press forward on reforms of all three branches of state government."