February is the month of the governor’s budget address to the Pennsylvania Legislature.  Before I address the governor’s budget proposal for this year, let’s look at last month’s legislative activity. 

Last month the final deals of last year’s budget were put in place as the legislature passed another gambling expansion bill.  I shared with you in my January memo how the legislature violated both the spirit and the intent of the House of Representatives rules and the law to ram the bill through. 

The legislation also included a new form of “WAM” or funding streams to benefit certain legislative districts and of course the legislators for those districts.  Although the governor publicly acknowledged and lamented that the legislation contained these funding streams for certain legislators, he signed it any way. 

One of the political covers that legislators utilize is their elected legislative leaders.  At the federal level certain Democrat legislators try to claim they are conservative while at the same time they elect and empower radical leftists like Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid. 

At the state level Republicans hold the majority in the Senate and control the flow of legislation. The most recent gambling expansion bill was opposed by 80 percent of the Republicans in the House and 67 percent of the Republicans in the Senate.  Why would the Senate leadership allow a bill to pass and even be voted on that 2/3 of the Republican Senators supposedly opposed? 

What is even more interesting is that the very same week, just before the vote, the Senate held leadership elections and all leaders were retained.  After the bill passed, it was also reported that one of the House leaders admitted that he helped the Democrat leadership identify Republican House members who would vote for the gambling legislation.  That leader recently resigned his leadership position. 

The only secret votes cast by legislators in Harrisburg are for their leaders.  All votes cast by legislators should be open.  Bringing an end to secret leadership elections would create more accountability by removing one of the political covers legislators are using to vote one way for show  but allow their leadership to enact policies that they say they oppose.

Exposing and removing the political covers used by politicians is vital if we are to be successful at stopping the out of control spending by our government. 

The most important vote of the year cast by the Pennsylvania Legislature is on the budget.  Everything that our state government does for us or to us is enabled or disabled through the budget. 

Of course,  the governor is proposing to do even more to us in this year’s budget.  His proposal to spend $29 billion or $1.2 billion more than last year’s budget is a reckless and callous disregard for the citizens of Pennsylvania.  The governor continues to call for tax increases to fund his insatiable appetite for spending and his lust to have more control over the lives of Pennsylvanians.  One of his tax increases is to tax dozens of products or services that taxpayers do not currently pay taxes on. 

I will continue the fight in Harrisburg to protect taxpayers.