Harrisburg Happenings

A report on the Legislative Session week June 14, 2010
By Senator Bob Robbins
50th Senatorial District

Senate Adopts Rules of Ethical Conduct

The Senate today adopted Senate Resolution 228, a measure I co-sponsored that clearly sets a line between legislative and campaign work, requires annual ethics training, and establishes strong penalties for violations.

Under the new Senate Rules of Ethical Conduct, annual training will be provided to all senators and all Senate employees related to the Senate Rules of Ethical Conduct, the Ethics Act, and the Lobbyist Disclosure Act.

The Rules of Ethical Conduct also include the following provisions:

No Senate employee may conduct any campaign activity on Senate work time.
No campaign activity may be conducted in a Senate office or with Senate resources.
The solicitation or receipt of campaign contributions on Senate work time or with Senate resources is prohibited.
No Senate employee may serve as an officer on a campaign committee or a campaign finance committee on behalf of any Senator or Senate candidate.
No Senate employee may be required to perform campaign activities or to make campaign contributions.
No Senate employee may be required to perform any non-work-related task.
Senate mailing lists and email lists may only be used for legislative purposes, and cannot be sold or given to any other entity, including campaigns.
Clarifies that Senate employees, who are responsible for taking or recommending official actions, are required to file Financial Interest Statements with the Secretary of the Senate.
No Senate-funded newsletter may be sent within 60 days of an election.

Any alleged violations of the Senate Rules of Ethical Conduct would first be investigated by the Secretary of the Senate. If a more detailed investigation is warranted and the subject of the report is a senator, the matter will be referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics and Official Conduct. If the subject of the report is an employee, an independent party will conduct the investigation.

Penalties for violations by an employee can range from a warning to termination of employment, depending on the circumstances. Penalties for violations by a senator can range from a warning to requiring restitution and any other sanction provided for under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Senate Approves Legislation to Monitor State Vehicle Use

I am pleased to report that the Senate also approved legislation this week that would monitor state vehicle use.

Senate Bill 104, the Accountability for Use of State Vehicles Act, would put commonsense restrictions on the use of state vehicles and establish more transparency. The bill would require state vehicles assigned to state employees bear an "official use" blue Commonwealth license plate.

Cabinet officials assigned a vehicle would be required to comply with the legislation; employees performing undercover law enforcement duties would be exempt. The bill would also require the Department of General Services and the respective state agency assigning vehicles to post employee names and titles as well as the year of the vehicle.

In January 2009, Auditor General Jack Wagner released a report on the Department of General Services' (DGS) management of the state's 16,637 fleet vehicles which detailed the current system's lack of accountability to Pennsylvania taxpayers. It is estimated this lack of central management of the state fleet costs taxpayers approximately $72 million a year.

The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.

Senate Pans "REAL ID"

The Senate unanimously approved legislation on Tuesday that would exempt Pennsylvania from compliance with the unfunded mandate of a national identification card.

Senate Bill 621 creates a freestanding act entitled the REAL ID Nonparticipation Act. This legislation prohibits the Governor, the Department of Transportation and all other Commonwealth agencies from participating in the compliance of any provision of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005. The bill also gives the Governor or the Attorney General the authority to file a legal action to challenge the constitutionality or legality of the federal law.

The federal REAL ID Nonparticipation Act mandates that states turn driver's licenses into a national identification card. Under REAL ID, state driver's licenses will not be accepted for federal purposes – including boarding an aircraft or entering a federal facility – unless they meet numerous criteria.

REAL ID also requires states to share motor vehicle databases, which will in effect, create a single, national database. Many are concerned that personal information in such a database could not be kept confidential. Digital scans of identification documents, including birth certificates and Social Security cards, would be required to be retained for at least 10 years (or a paper copy for seven years).

Senate Bill 621 now goes to the House for consideration.

Contact:

Michael Hengst
(717) 787-1322