Proposed Legislation Would Dock
Lawmakers', Governor's Pay
HARRISBURG — State Sen. Mike Stack will soon introduce legislation that would dock pay from state legislators, the governor and cabinet secretaries if a state budget is not resolved by the annual June 30 deadline.
“If the General Assembly was a private business, employees would be expected to do their job in a timely manner and would be reprimanded if they missed a deadline. It should be no different at the Capitol,” said Stack, who is the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We are expected to do our jobs efficiently. When we don’t, it’s only fair that we pay for our inaction on the budget.”
As of today, the 2009-10 Pennsylvania budget is 96 days late.
Although Pennsylvania is faced with the difficult task of filling a $3.2 billion deficit during a historic worldwide economic downturn, legislators have been at odds over details over cutting programs and generating revenue.
“Democrats and Republicans often have different views on how to spend money in Pennsylvania, but this impasse is ridiculous,” Stack said. “There must be consequences for our inaction. I understand that it won’t be a popular bill among some colleagues, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Stack’s legislation would require that state legislators, the governor and cabinet secretaries forfeit a proportional amount of their pay for every day the budget is late.
“This means that when a budget is passed after June 30 we would not receive back pay. Instead, the pay would be forfeited and returned to the general fund,” Stack said. “So, for example, if the budget is late by two weeks, pay for legislators will be reduced from $78,312 to $75,049.”
from Senator Stack's Web site via Facebook
“If the General Assembly was a private business, employees would be expected to do their job in a timely manner and would be reprimanded if they missed a deadline. It should be no different at the Capitol,” said Stack, who is the Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We are expected to do our jobs efficiently. When we don’t, it’s only fair that we pay for our inaction on the budget.”
As of today, the 2009-10 Pennsylvania budget is 96 days late.
Although Pennsylvania is faced with the difficult task of filling a $3.2 billion deficit during a historic worldwide economic downturn, legislators have been at odds over details over cutting programs and generating revenue.
“Democrats and Republicans often have different views on how to spend money in Pennsylvania, but this impasse is ridiculous,” Stack said. “There must be consequences for our inaction. I understand that it won’t be a popular bill among some colleagues, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Stack’s legislation would require that state legislators, the governor and cabinet secretaries forfeit a proportional amount of their pay for every day the budget is late.
“This means that when a budget is passed after June 30 we would not receive back pay. Instead, the pay would be forfeited and returned to the general fund,” Stack said. “So, for example, if the budget is late by two weeks, pay for legislators will be reduced from $78,312 to $75,049.”
from Senator Stack's Web site via Facebook
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