July 7, 2005

At least Gene Stilp remembered.

Today marks the third anniversary of the infamous Pennsylvania payjacking. How quickly we forget.

Stilp, one of the founders of the reform movement launched after the middle-of-the-night pay raise the Pennsylvania Legislature gave itself, the governor and the state's judges, marked the anniversary with a ceremony in the state Capitol.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

HARRISBURG -- A slim slice of carrot cake sat on a podium in the state Capitol rotunda today, marking the third anniversary of the infamous legislative pay-raise vote of July 7, 2005.

A coalition of citizens' groups said the small piece of cake represented the state's new open records law -- the one and only piece of reform legislation that the General Assembly has enacted in the wake of a huge public outcry over the 2 a.m. vote to increase legislative salaries by up to 34 percent, an increase that was later repealed.

"There is not very much cake for the people of Pennsylvania to eat," said Gene Stilp of Taxpayers & Ratepayers United, who hauled an inflatable pink pig around the state in late 2005 and 2006 to protest the pay raise.

Read the full story by reporter Christopher Wink, "Third anniversary of infamous pay-raise recognized," at the Post-Gazette Web site.

Where does the reform movement stand three years into the people's revolution?

About 100 of the lawmakers who voted for the pay raise will no longer be members of the Pennsylvania Legislature by the end of this year, having been ousted by voters or forced into retirement.

The Legislature has made internal changes in the way it conducts business, eliminating late-night sessions and requiring a waiting period for bills to be voted on so a last-minute scam like the pay raise can't be rushed through at 2 a.m. again.

But there's still a long way to go.

Pennsylvania voters have an opportunity to clean house again this November when all 203 members of the House and 25 members of the Senate face re-election.