Senate News Update
From Senator Jane Earll
June 3, 2011

Fiscal Accountability Legislation

Much is made of the term, "accountability."  Implicit in "public office" is the "public" who elects, and whose tax dollars fund the office.  Thus, every recipient of public funds must document how those funds are used and prove that they are acting in accord with the statutory mission entrusted to them.  In recent weeks, the State Senate has passed three significant measures, each of which I co-sponsored, to improve accountability to you, the taxpayers.

Senate Bill 105 would require the Independent Fiscal Office to create a searchable budget database-driven Internet website called "PennWatch" by December 31, 2012.  The site would provide annual appropriation information for the General Fund and the Motor License Fund, and funding action or expenditure information for Commonwealth agencies.  By December 31, 2014, program information and outcome measures would also be available.  Data would remain accessible on the website for a 10-year period.  The Independent Fiscal Office would design a classification system to track payees and to facilitate searching for aggregated information.  The bill passed unanimously on April 26, 2011 and was referred to the Appropriations Committee in the House on April 27, 2011.

Senate Bill 104 would require any state employee who is assigned a state-owned vehicle to maintain a monthly mileage log detailing the state employee's use of the vehicle.  The Department of General Services would post on its Internet website a list of state employees, contract employees and independent contractors who are assigned a state vehicle. The listing would include the name, state entity, title, year and make of the vehicle, and would be updated every 90 days.  Updates from the agency chief would contain:  the name of individual making the claim for mileage; either the employing agency or the public office; the date of travel; the general purpose of travel; and the number of miles claimed.  This measure would become effective in 60 days.  (Senators and staff already report their legislative mileage monthly for review by the Office of the Chief Clerk.)  The Senate passed SB 104 unanimously on May 23, 2011; the House State Government Committee received it on May 25, 2011.

Finally, Senate Bill 109, the Taxpayer-Funded Advertising Transparency Act, would prohibit any expenditure for media advertising by any Commonwealth agency using money from the General Fund, or any special fund comprised of taxes or revenue collected or received by the Commonwealth, unless the advertisement included the following statement that is easily seen, read or heard: "Paid for with Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars."  The Senate voted 50-0 on May 3, 2011 for SB 109, which was then referred to the House State Government Committee on May 9, 2011.  It would take effect in 30 days.

Each of the above proposals had passed the Senate last session, but was not considered by the House.   It is my hope that these bills will receive serious attention in the state House of Representatives during the session of 2011-2012.