Editorial A newyear but same old Harrisburg

Call it Harrisburg’s own version of “Groundhog Day.”

You know, the classic Bill Murray flick based on the annual blowout in Punxsutawney where the world’s most famous prognosticating rodent predicts whether or not we will have an early spring. In the movie, Murray plays a weatherman less than thrilled with his assignment, only to find he wakes up every day re-living his very own Groundhog Day nightmare.

Yes, the old gang gathered once again this week in Harrisburg. Oh, there were a couple of new faces as the 201st legislative session kicked off with the swearing-in of the new Legislature, one of the nation’s largest and most expensive ruling bodies. Michael Corr is the new state representative for the 150th House District in Montgomery County. Republican Alex Charlton, R-165, faces the daunting task of replacing longtime Springfield state Rep. Bill Adolph, who retired last fall. Adolph just happened to be chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. In other words, his fingerprints were all over the state’s budget every year. The loss of Adolph, along with the slew of other veteran members of the Delaware County delegation in recent years, not onlymeans less clout for southeastern Pennsylvania. It means less money.

On the Democratic side, the 159th District will again be represented by a Kirkland, just not the one who has been their man in Harrisburg for the past two decades. Rep. Bryan Kirkland was sworn in, taking the place of his uncle, Thaddeus Kirkland, who is now mayor of Chester. Other than that, the Legislature looks prettymuch the same — very Republican. Voters in November retained the GOPmajorities in both theHouse and Senate. The numbers in the House are 121 Republicans and 82 Democrats. The margin in the Senate is 34 Republicans and 16 Democrats.

The issues theywill facewill look familiar as well. The state continues to bleed red ink, staring into the abyss of a deficit that likely will zoomover $600 million; two perennially challenged public employee pension plans that are $60 billion in the red, a “ticking time bomb” that threatens the bottomline of every school district in the county; lousy bond ratings, making the idea of raising revenue an even steeper uphill task; and a sagging fiscal reputation nationally.

The news is not getting better on the bottomline side. The most recent projections fromthe state Department of Revenue released this week show General Fund Revenue running nearly 4 percent behind expected totals.

And of course, Gov. TomWolf and Republicans in the Legislature are bracing for their annual tug of war over taxes and education spending. The governor will deliver his third budget address Feb. 7, ironically just a few days after Punxsutawney Phil emerges fromhis burrow.

Expect the shadow of fiscal peril to hang heavily overHarrisburg. There is, however, one thing that will look different in the state capital.

Rep. Leslie Acosta will not be there. The Philadelphia Democrat had been clinging to her seat despite pleading guilty to a federal embezzlement charge, something that somehowhad managed to remain under the radar for months.

But instead of resigning her seat after entering the plea, Acosta instead stuck around, collecting her check and state benefits. Incredulously, she even won re-election, running unopposed. She was able to do that — and continue collecting her $85,000-a-year salary — because Pennsylvania law does not bar public officials charged with a felony from office until after their case is complete. In other words, after they are sentenced. Acosta is still awaiting sentencing, but she did resign her seat this week.

Hopefully it’s the last time such a clear flouting of the public will take place in Harrisburg.

That’s because lawmakers, in a rare show of respect for the taxpayers who installed them in office, this week made it easier to drum out public officials convicted of certain crimes.

Under newHouse rules, a member of the Legislature who enters a plea, or is found guilty of a crime related to office or that would interfere with the ability to do the job, would immediately be targeted for expulsion. The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Ethics Committee would have the power to authorize a request to have the offending member given the boot. The expulsion matterwould then appear on the voting calendar for the next scheduled session day of the Legislature. The move passed the House in a 167-32 vote. Good for them. Now get to work on those budget and pension issues.