Columnist: Legislative reform was short-lived

Brad Bumstead, who covers Harrisburg for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, has a knack for cutting through the BS and getting to the heart of an issue.

Commenting on the recent move by House Democratic leadership to undo the Legislative reforms enacted over the past two years, Bumstead says the members of the entrenched Harrisburg political class "still don't get it."

From his column:

Then on the night two weeks ago when Gov. Ed Rendell unveiled his $29 billion state spending plan and most reporters were paying no attention to the House, the Democrats struck:

• They made it easier and more likely that the House will be able to hold late-night sessions. The 11 p.m. curfew can be suspended with fewer votes.

• Realizing they had erred in approving an amendment by Rep. John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, that prevented legislators from working as lobbyists, the Democrat majority approved a motion that declared Maher's amendment unconstitutional and allowed a handful of Democrat members to continue working at big law firms with lobbying arms.

• They restored the power of the House Rules Committee, a panel controlled by leaders, to serve as a mechanism to kill any bill or alter the face of legislation.

• They weakened the 24-hour rule before the House can vote on legislation. The previous rule was supposed to give lawmakers a chance to read the bills they'd be voting on. "In essence, I don't think we have a 24-hour rule any longer," said Rep. Curt Schroder, a Chester County Republican.

It's clearly a retreat from the measures proposed by the Speaker's Reform Commission and adopted by the House in 2007. And Schroder reminds that some Democrats who served on the reform panel voted for "this destruction of openness."

Read the full column at the newspaper's Web site.