Joins call for House to pass seven bills during fall session

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Harrisburg, PA – Tuesday, September 16, 2008, Senator John H. Eichelberger, Jr. joined Senate GOP leadership in the Capitol Media Center to call on the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to take action on seven crucial pieces of reform legislation before the end of the fall session.

“We have a lot of important work to do in a very short period of time,” John says. “It’s really a shame that Senate leadership has to sanction a news conference to inspire the House to act on meaningful reform legislation. These are bills that passed the Senate with bipartisan support and would improve government transparency and allow Pennsylvania’s citizens to hold their Legislature accountable. It’s hard to believe we’re standing here today pushing for no-brainer bills,” John says.

John is the sponsor of Senate Bill 986, the Commonwealth Agency Bonus Ban Act, which would prohibit any Commonwealth agency, including the legislature and the courts, from paying a bonus to any of its employees.

John introduced this bill after requesting the now famous “Bonus-gate” investigation by the Attorney General, which has resulted in 12 indictments to date, with more on the way.

Other reform bills discussed in the Senate GOP news conference today include:

Senate Bill 467- increasing penalties for government officials who violate the state Sunshine Law.

Senate Bill 729- requiring the state to post salary information for state employees on an official website.

Senate Bill 1015- requiring all paid advertising by state government to bear the following disclaimer: Paid for with Pennsylvania Tax Dollars.

Senate Bill 1499- restricting the use of state vehicles and requiring detailed mileage logs.

Senate Bill 1201- providing stricter controls on use of Commonwealth aircraft, with information posted on a public website.

Senate Bill 903- prohibiting a state agency from contracting with outside individuals or firms to do consulting work, unless reviewed by the Attorney General or is open to competitive bidding.

“I hope the House will step up to the plate on these important reform bills and send them to the Governor to be signed into law. If the people in charge of that chamber deliberately scuttle these bills, the citizens of this state should remember their names and hold them responsible for their flagrant failure to perform their duty,” John says.

If the House does not take action this year, the bills will expire.

To view John’s comments click here.

To view John’s comments in an interview click here.

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