Op-Ed:We Must Reform to Restore Faith in State Gvt.

Delivering a fiscally responsible budget this year was an important step in protecting taxpayers, but to actually change the way government works requires reforming the systems that alienate our citizens.  I am happy to say we are making progress on this front.

 A WATCH on spending

Taxpayers being able to see where their money is spent constitutes step one toward open government.  That’s why I voted for the Pennsylvania Web Accountability, Transparency and Contract Hub, or PennWATCH, which was signed into law June 30th.

PennWATCH will allow citizens to go online and examine the state’s expenditures (including the names of recipients and the funding source) as well as how much state revenue was collected the previous month.

Reforming the Legislature

House Republicans made it a point this year to curb both the costs of the legislature and the perks legislators receive.  Our budget reduced funding for the House by $15 million and reduced the often criticized legislative reserves, using that money to help fund K-12 Education.

We forced all House members to contribute to their healthcare costs for the first time, eliminated car leases, and made changes to the per diem system. There is also pending legislation to require that new legislators enter a 401 (K) plan, rather than a gold-plated pension plan.  To lead by example, I refused the state car, per diems and the current legislative pension.

Other reforms we have passed await further action, including increasing penalties for violating the Lobbyist Disclosure Act, extending whistleblower protections, and prohibiting legislators from creating non-profits that receive public funds.

Curbing Welfare Fraud

Elected officials from both parties agree that the Department of Public Welfare (DPW), which devours one third of the state’s budget, is rife with waste and fraud. That’s why the WelFAIR initiative was so important toward restoring accountability to the system – and saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.  Several pieces of the WelFAIR initiative became law in June, including:

Drug Testing-- Drug felons applying for public assistance will take random drug testing; drug felons currently in the welfare system will also be tested.

No Benefit Shopping – Citizens on public assistance will now receive benefits based on the levels allowed in the county of their legal residence instead of claiming bogus addresses that provide them greater benefits.

Income Eligibility Verification System -- DPW will now use an electronic system to provide a 19-point check on eligibility and create a standard fraud detection system.

Reforming the Special Allowance Program – This program will be converted from a grant to a loan program once a welfare recipient is employed.

Reform will continue, and in time I hope we will restore some faith in our state government.  My first six months make me believe good things are possible, but we will need to keep after it.