Freebie watch
State lawmakers should justify gifts and extras
Pennsylvania lawmakers and other state officials have filed their annual ethics statements listing income from second jobs, plus gifts they’ve received and travel they’ve taken at others’ expense.
As usual, the filing follies ensued, with reporters scurrying around trying to make sense of the barebones information required to be included in the reports. For example, Rep. Eli Evankovich, R-Westmoreland, listed $2,363 and $5,987 in travel from the American Council of Young Political Leaders and the New Zealand Parliament, respectively. What was that all about?
The report required no additional details, and Mr. Evankovich didn’t supply any. In interviews, he said he wanted to study trade, immigration and population growth and to “find out, is there something New Zealand is doing that Pennsylvania could emulate?” He said it “wasn’t a leisurely trip” but declined to provide an itinerary or answer additional questions when the Post-Gazette made a follow-up inquiry Tuesday.
In all, according to The Associated Press, lawmakers received more than $145,000 in gifts, travel and other freebies last year. Generally speaking, they are free to take what they want, provided they meet the minimal reporting obligations. Their travel can have little or nothing to do with their official responsibilities, and as Mr. Evankovich demonstrated, they are free to provide as much or as little supplemental information as they like when the public asks for it.
Worse, the gimmes are growing, up from $43,000 worth of free items four years ago.
Democratic Reps. Donna Bullock and Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia accepted tickets to sporting events and other shows that they said they passed on to constituents. Let constituents get them on their own. Even if the tickets were for charity, lawmakers had no need to get involved. Sports teams and cultural groups donate tickets often.
A beverage company put Rep. Jack Rader, R-Monroe, on a billboard welcoming people to the Poconos. He called it a gift and valued it at several hundred dollars. No offense to Mr. Rader, but what makes him think people wanted to see his face upon entering the resort area?
For years, activists and a handful of clear-headed lawmakers have tried to end this dark dimension of state government. But they’ve been unsuccessful so far; a bill to ban most gifts, sponsored by Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth, is pending. (A legislator’s base pay is $86,500, plus good benefits.)
Gov. Tom Wolf set a good example the day he took office by implementing a gift ban for himself and other executive-branch employees. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who has made ethics a priority, also should renounce gifts and subsidized travel. Last year, when he was a Montgomery County commissioner, he accepted nearly $3,000 worth of professional basketball and hockey tickets for his personal use. That should be the end of that.
Mr. Shapiro signed an ethics pledge and invited other employees to do so after becoming attorney general. Now, his office is in the process of developing a handbook that will more specifically address ethics issues, and he intends to comply with the policy himself.
Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, was happy to discuss a trip he made to Nigeria with the assistance of officials there. He called it the outgrowth of his acquaintanceship with a regional Nigerian king and an opportunity to broker cultural ties with Nigeria and an exchange program with Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Harris is on a committee charged with overhauling the historically black university.
“I’m a better legislator for going,” he said. “I’m a better person for going.”
That may well be. Mr. Harris may publicize the visit in district newsletters or in other forums. But he is under no obligation to do so. That should change.