Bumstead: Top 10 rules for new legislators

Brad Bumstead, the veteran Harrisburg reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, offers some timely advice for the 34 freshman state legislators sworn in last week.

While the lawmakers go through an extensive orientation program before joining the Legislature, Bumstead's advice should be taken to heart.

"For the most part, don't emulate the freshmen class of 2007-2008," Bumstead writes. "Elected in the aftermath of the 2005 pay raise debacle, the 50-plus member class was expected to be the catalyst for wide-ranging reform. With a few notable exceptions -- like Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Uniontown, on open records and Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery County, who is bulldogging the Gaming Control Board -- that class was largely a bust."

Some other good advice offered by Bustead:

Don't take dinners from lobbyists or other members who get lobbyists to pick up the tab. It's another step on the road to corruption. Meet with lobbyists in your office during business hours.

Don't overdo it with press releases. Few news outlets use them. Wait until you really have something important to say. Less is better.

Never vote for a bill increasing your pay or benefits. If you hear it's happening, speak out against it ahead of time -- not afterward.

Check out Bumstead's "Top 10 rules for new legislators" at the newspaper's Web site.