Predicting that the legislation will pass only if voters put the squeeze on his colleagues, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, today will roll out for the third time a bill to limit the income lawmakers receive from second jobs.
He said he also will introduce a bill that would require lawmakers and other state officials to provide more details about how much they earn from each outside job.
Mr. DeLuca said the legislation would help prevent conflicts of interest and make sure legislators’ top priority is their constituents, not outside employers.
“The main thing is, this is supposed to be a full-time job,” Mr. DeLuca said. And if the state’s 50 senators and 203 House members work full time for constituents, he said, they shouldn’t have much opportunity for moonlighting.
Yet after reviewing lawmakers’ most recent statements of financial interest, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in December that at least 36 senators and more than half of House members had second jobs or other outside financial interests, excluding a spouse’s income. Many lawmakers also serve on the committees and vote on the bills affecting their outside interests.
Lawmakers have a base salary of about $85,000, though leaders of each chamber make more money for additional responsibilities. The taxpayers “pay us good wages,” Mr. DeLuca said. “They pay us good benefits.”
One of Mr. DeLuca’s bills would limit lawmakers’ outside income to 35 percent of their base salaries. There would be some exceptions, such as for members who earned pensions in another line of work.
The other bill would add a new section to the statement of financial interest, which must be filed annually by lawmakers and certain other state officials and employees. Currently, filers must list each source of income totaling $1,300 or more.
Mr. DeLuca also wants filers to list an income range — $10,000 to $24,999 or $25,000 to $49,999, for example — for each outside job. If lawmakers’ outside income grows as they gain seniority and influence in the Legislature, he said, the public should note that “red flag.”
The bill to limit lawmakers’ income would require a constitutional amendment, meaning it would have to pass the Legislature twice and win voter approval.
Twice before, Mr. DeLuca’s proposal to limit lawmakers’ income went nowhere, with some members complaining that restrictions would keep talented people from seeking office. “That’s a poor excuse,” Mr. DeLuca said.
This time, he hopes to ride the coattails of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who has promoted accountability by placing his business assets in a blind trust and banning gifts for executive-branch workers. Still, Mr. DeLuca said “the only way this is going to pass is if people put pressure” on their legislators.
To show the need for the legislation, Mr. DeLuca can point to the scandal unfolding in New York, where Sheldon Silver, longtime speaker of that state’s Assembly, faces federal corruption charges. The indictment accuses him of accepting nearly $4 million in bribes and kickbacks and providing state funds and other taxpayer-subsidized benefits to a doctor who referred asbestos cases to a law firm with which Mr. Silver was affiliated.
Rep. George Dunbar, R-Westmoreland County, a leader of Pennsylvania’s 2-year-old Government Reform Caucus, predicted that income restrictions will be a “lot harder lift” than other accountability measures. But if Mr. DeLuca brings the legislation to the bipartisan, bicameral caucus, Mr. Dunbar said, “we’ll be glad to take a strong look at it.”
Mr. Dunbar said he has concerns about the proposed income restrictions, such as the potential impact on members who no longer are active in a law firm or other enterprise but maintain an ownership interest.
“What would you expect them to do? Sell off their interest?” he said.
First Published: February 25, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
Updated: February 25, 2015, 5:09 a.m.