Legislative report card time

From our good friend Russ Diamond and the folks at PACleanSweep, comes this timely assessment of the most expensive state Legislature in these United States:

PACleanSweep Issues Legislative Report Card

PACleanSweep, the non-partisan organization that helped Pennsylvanians begin to reclaim state government after the 2005 pay raise, today released a report card for all members of the General Assembly, issuing a final grade to each according to their performance.

The assessment reaches back to cover major policy initiatives enacted by the state since 1998, including the stadium funding and legislative pension increase bills under the Ridge administration. Also receiving attention are major initiatives advanced on Ed Rendell's watch including a 10 percent increase in the state's personal income tax rate in 2003, the slots bill and the infamous pay raise with its accompanying unvouchered expenses provisions.

Lawmakers' positions on three failed attempts to partially solve the continuing property tax problem over the past ten years are taken into account, as is length of service beyond ten years, to reflect the preference by 75 percent of Pennsylvanians for legislative term limits, according to a recent poll.

While efforts to reform state government are relatively new developments in the General Assembly, each chamber's members were given credit where due for their personal commitment to change, evidenced either by their signature on the PACleanSweep candidate declaration last year or their co-sponsorship on one of two existing bills to enable a constitutional convention.

Finally, participation in what some have dubbed the "Incumbent Protection Plan" was calculated into final grades through a weighted scoring system on the most self-serving pieces of legislation highlighted by the report card, by assessing each member's radio and television public service announcement spending during 2005-06, and for the involvement of their respective caucus leaders in the unresolved "Bonusgate" affair.

Members are listed on the report card alphabetically by default, but visitors can also sort the list by seniority, county or legislative district for ease of use. Sorting by seniority, due to the format of the report card, reveals a distinct tendency by long term lawmakers to support more egregious pieces of legislation over the years.

Visitors are provided a complete explanation of the grading system employed in the report card and links are provided to the text of each piece of legislation highlighted.

Clicking on a lawmaker's name within the report card will open a new window with a more detailed look at that individual's legislative career, leadership role, committee assignments and district voter registration statistics. Also included on each lawmaker's page is an opportunity for citizens to provide additional credible information regarding the individual's job performance in the General Assembly.

The report card will serve as a reference for all Pennsylvania voters during the 2008 election cycle. Any major statewide initiatives enacted in the future will be added and figured into each lawmaker's grade. All 203 members of the House of Representatives face re-election in 2008, as do the 25 Senators from odd-numbered districts.

The report card can be viewed by visiting the PACleanSweep website at www.pacleansweep.com.

View the Legislative Report Card