Driving Taxpayers Crazy: House Committee Hears About My Bill to End Taxpayer-Subsidized Cars for Legislators
April 13, 2018
Driving Taxpayers Crazy: House Committee Hears About My Bill to End Taxpayer-Subsidized Cars for Legislators
Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for vehicles for legislators. A taxpayer shouldn’t have to pay for his or her own car payment and then pay for a vehicle for a legislator on top of that. My House Bill 482 would end the practice of providing taxpayer-funded cars to state legislators. State legislators currently are eligible to receive a taxpayer-funded car as long as the monthly lease payment is not more than $628. Most of the costs for repairs, insurance, gasoline, oil changes, tolls and car washes also are paid by taxpayers. There are approximately 30 legislators who currently have state cars. The statewide average lease for thousands of state vehicles is $353 per month, but the 30 vehicles legislators are assigned average $580 per month. By comparison, I drive my own vehicle and am reimbursed for travel-related expenses. I pay for maintenance and repair costs for my own vehicle. I own a Chevy Silverado 4x4 pickup truck. Prior to becoming a state legislator, I served as a commercial underwriter with Erie Insurance. Providing state cars for legislators is a huge negligent entrustment liability exposure for the state, especially considering the driving records of legislators are not monitored as part of the program. This to me is a commonsense reform that could save taxpayer money that could then be used to provide programs and services for senior citizens or veterans. Many of my constituents tell me they’d like to see perks like this eliminated. Taxpayers are tired of being “taken for a ride” when it comes to providing cars for legislators. My bill must be approved through a vote by the House State Government Committee before it can be considered by the full House of Representatives. |
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| Workplace Harassment, Misconduct Focus of House Republican Announcement
The two-bill legislative package would create a task force to investigate the laws, practices and procedures surrounding harassment and sexual misconduct in the workplace. This comprehensive review would reveal any inadequacies in current laws, regulations and policies surrounding this subject and produce a report to the General Assembly with its findings and recommendations. A second bill would review anti-harassment and discrimination laws and policies affecting Commonwealth employees. The Joint State Government Commission would be tasked with reviewing the number, types and results of workplace complaints in state government agencies and entities and provide a comparison of workplace policies related to harassment and sexual misconduct. An array of federal, state and local laws are already in place that prohibit harassment and sexual misconduct at work. To begin that review process, the House Labor and Industry Committee will hold a fact-finding hearing on April 24. |
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| Judiciary Committee Holds Hearings on Firearms Bills
Nearly 30 members from both sides of the aisle are bringing their ideas before the committee. The proposals involve ways to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals, prevent domestic violence, enhance school safety, address street crimes and strengthen background checks. The hearings will continue next week. Live webstreaming is available at PAHouseGOP.com. |
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| Ensuring Fairness in Lodging Industry
The registration would allow counties and state government to better collect the hotel occupancy taxes from patrons, and hosting platforms cannot facilitate the booking of lodging until they are registered. The legislation, House Bill 1810, would help ensure that all entities that provide overnight lodging in their residences apply local and state hotel taxes and are aware of their obligation to do so. Some online platforms already collect and remit taxes, while others do not. The hearing included testimony on both sides of the bill, with supporters arguing that online companies should be remitting taxes and providing basic information to ensure transparency and compliance with the law, while opponents cited differences within the industry that would make the legislation impractical and ineffective. |
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| Protecting Children from Abuse
In 2016, 4,416 children were victims of abuse or neglect in Pennsylvania, with 46 of those children dying as a result. Additionally, reports of child abuse or child neglect hit an all-time high that year with 44,359 cases. This illustrates that the public at large is becoming more vigilant and taking their responsibility to report seriously. Over the last several years, the House has passed nearly two dozen laws to make abusers pay the price, improve child abuse reporting and investigations, expand due process protections for those wrongly accused, share information to increase protection and strengthen prevention efforts. Many of those laws will continue to be re-examined and revisited to ensure that our laws are among the best in the nation to protect some of our most vulnerable members of society. |
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