Scarnati, Pileggi Statement on Fumo
We thank the jurors in the case against former Senator Fumo for their willingness to serve, for their attention through the extended trial, and for their careful deliberations.
When we were first elected as leaders of the Senate Republican Caucus a little more than two years ago, two of our primary goals were to make the Senate's actions more accessible to the public, and to improve the Senate’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
With broad bipartisan support, many improvements have been made both in statute and to the operation of the Senate over that time, such as:
Pennsylvania's Open Records Law was rewritten for the first time in more than 50 years, making many more records accessible to the public much more quickly.
State contracts, including Senate contracts, valued at more than $5,000 are now available for easy public inspection in a freely accessible online database.
In addition to the Senate Chief Clerk's office, an attorney from each caucus reviews any contract involving that caucus or a member of that caucus before it is implemented.
The Senate Chief Clerk's office is finalizing an intranet site which will detail and clarify all Senate rules and policies for members and staff, providing much easier access to exactly what the rules are.
We also eliminated all bonus payments, eliminated private automobile leases, instituted a co-pay on health insurance for members and staff, eliminated per diems for members living within 50 miles of the Capitol, and prohibited the use of Senate funds for robo-calls.
This case showed that there were holes in the system which could be exploited by a member willing to do so. We are determined to close those holes, and we have made significant progress in that effort. We will continue to push forward.
When we were first elected as leaders of the Senate Republican Caucus a little more than two years ago, two of our primary goals were to make the Senate's actions more accessible to the public, and to improve the Senate’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
With broad bipartisan support, many improvements have been made both in statute and to the operation of the Senate over that time, such as:
Pennsylvania's Open Records Law was rewritten for the first time in more than 50 years, making many more records accessible to the public much more quickly.
State contracts, including Senate contracts, valued at more than $5,000 are now available for easy public inspection in a freely accessible online database.
In addition to the Senate Chief Clerk's office, an attorney from each caucus reviews any contract involving that caucus or a member of that caucus before it is implemented.
The Senate Chief Clerk's office is finalizing an intranet site which will detail and clarify all Senate rules and policies for members and staff, providing much easier access to exactly what the rules are.
We also eliminated all bonus payments, eliminated private automobile leases, instituted a co-pay on health insurance for members and staff, eliminated per diems for members living within 50 miles of the Capitol, and prohibited the use of Senate funds for robo-calls.
This case showed that there were holes in the system which could be exploited by a member willing to do so. We are determined to close those holes, and we have made significant progress in that effort. We will continue to push forward.
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