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January 21, 2010 | Commentary by JOE STERNS
Time for Term Limits Again
Unfortunately, this spirit of civic virtue yielded to self-aggrandizement. Early on, legislators served a few terms in a public office and then returned to private life to live under the laws they created. Today, politicians make a career out of getting re-elected to the same office.
December 14, 2009 | Testimony by JOE STERNS
Qualifications for Governor (HB 2083)
House Bill 2083 begs us to consider whether or not an Attorney General longing to be Governor would be inclined to abuse his power to achieve his political goals, and further, whether or not there should be a four-year hiatus between an Attorney General's transition to Governor. House Bill 2083 doesn't apply the logic of its premise to the spectrum of state government.
September 22, 2009 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE, JOE STERNS
Reforming the Budget Process in Pennsylvania
In the political world, 2009 will be remembered as the year that Pennsylvania went longer than any other state without a budget. The Commonwealth went months past the June 30th deadline, let state workers go unpaid, and used service agencies as pawns in negotiations.
This has been par for the course in Harrisburg, as every budget under Gov. Ed Rendell since 2003 has been tardy. This failure to enact timely and fiscally responsible budgets suggests the need to reform the process to both protect taxpayers and provide core government functions.
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JANUARY 3, 2010
PennsylvaniaVotes.org Year in Review
Below is a handy set of indicators as to how your state legislators performed in 2009, courtesy of PennsylvaniaVotes.org, the Commonwealth's first and only website that provides a layman's description of every bill introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly while tracking each legislator's votes -- at no cost to users.
Click on the tabs to see which Pennsylvania House and Senate members introduce the most bills, who got the highest percentage passed, and who missed the most votes.
NOTE: Some members missed votes due to family emergencies, illness, child birth, or other reasons. It is advised to directly inquire with your elected official to hear why they were not voting on your behalf.
posted by JOE STERNS | 00:54 PM | 2 comments
DECEMBER 29, 2009
More Evidence for Term Limits
State Rep. Bryan Lentz, a Democrat from Delaware County, has provided the latest evidence that term limits are very healthy for representative democracies.
First elected to the state House of Reps in 2006, Lentz has limited himself to two terms in Harrisburg by retiring to run for an open Congressional seat next year. He'll have a very tough contest for the U.S. House, most likely against former U.S. Attorney and Delaware County district attorney Patrick Meehan, who is well known as a "law and order" guy.
So it was no surprise when Lentz recently called upon state House Majority Leader Todd Eachus to resign his leadership post. Though controversy and speculation are swirling around Eachus, including the indictment of his former political ally Bill DeWeese (who recently resigned as House Majority Whip), Eachus himself has not been formally charged with any wrongdoing.
The salient question: Would Lentz have called upon an unindicted caucus leader to step down had he chosen to stay in Harrisburg and climb the ladder of seniority and power in the state House rather than retire and run for Congress? My answer: no way, Jose.
The Lentz example reminds me of another chapter in statehouse politics illustrative of the beauty of term limits:
In 1999, state Rep. Frank Serafini, a Republican from Lackawanna County, was found guilty of perjury by a jury of his peers. Article II, Section 7, of the PA Constitution states: "No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public moneys, bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the General Assembly [italics added]." Upon the guilty verdict for Serafini, the Democrats-to their credit-attempted to introduce a resolution expelling him from the House. Republicans, to their discredit, voted to block the expulsion resolution from even being considered. There were only five Republicans out of 102 who voted to expel the perjurer, and they had something germane in common: each of the five had self-term limited himself and was exiting the General Assembly the following year, either to run for higher office or retire.
The moral of the story: term-limited politicians are more inclined to vote their conscience and do the right thing rather than get caught up in the political game.
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posted by JOE STERNS | 10:18 AM | 1 comment
