Editorial: State lawmakers need daily expenses accountability - TribLIVE

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What does it take to get you through the day?

The price of your breakfast. A mid- morning cup of coffee. Lunch, a snack, dinner. A room for the night.

How much would that total?

For some state legislators, it’s quite the figure.

A Spotlight PA dive into the government books found that from March 2020 to December 2020, when most people were staying home, legislators billed $726,877 in expenses for those daily costs. The whole year came in just over $1 million.

A lot of it was with Southwestern Pennsylvania officials.

Rep. William Kortz, D-Dravosburg, racked up $19,957. Only three others in the state spent more. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, came in at $10,554.

Of 30 area legislators, 12 billed more than $5,000 for 2020. Just four were under $1,000. Sen. Pam Iovino, D-Mt. Lebanon, was the lowest locally at just $198.

Having your office pick up the tab for a business lunch or a hotel room is not unusual. The difference between your company and the state, however, is accountability.

It is unlikely that most accounting departments would blithely sign off on $200 without a receipt. The state does just that, giving a flat fee of $178 to $200 in 2020. Legislators also have the option of submitting receipts for expenses instead.

There are 203 Pennsylvania state representatives. Only 61 of them went the receipt route in 2020.

Those receipts totaled $115,747 or an average of $1,897, compared to an average of $6,725 for per diems in the House of Representatives.

Private sector employers know that receipts make people accountable. So does the public sector — at least when it doesn’t involve elected officials. The state asks other employees to submit proof of their expenses.

Bills to change the per-diem system in Pennsylvania have had trouble attracting support or a hearing.

That needs to change.

Our lawmakers need to be more accountable for their use of public money, not less. We should not be asking them to work for free, but if there is a legitimate expense, it should be documented.

That is not too much to ask, and it is unacceptable that the Legislature has gone this long without holding itself to the same standard that employees at Pennsylvania businesses have to maintain.

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