Valley senators support expense transparency

By Eric Seiverling

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

With their spending habits and expenses under recent scrutiny, Pennsylvania senators announced a new reporting system this week to make all Senate expenses available to the public online beginning Sept. 1.

The information will include all office leases, per diems, reimbursements for meals and lodging, supplies, mileage, office maintenance and other expenses. The information will be available on a new webpage, which will be updated monthly by the chief clerk and will apply to all Senate offices — Republican, Democrat, independent and institutional.

Previously, that information had to be sought through a Right to Know Law request, although some lawmakers provided the information on their webpages.

The announcement comes after a recent investigative report by Spotlight PA revealed the information that lawmakers claim isn’t always accurate or current.

In the Mon Valley, officials welcomed the change.

“Continuing the transparency and accountability initiative I focused on earlier this year by sponsoring legislation to better inform the public about governmental proceedings, this new system would also make it easier for people to access information that taxpayers should have,” said Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township. “They shouldn’t have to ask permission to find out how their money is being spent, so I am pleased that the system will soon provide information on demand.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.