Gabig fights House leaders on Pay Raise

Gabig fights House leaders

By John Hilton,

September 14, 2005

State Rep. Will Gabig, R-199, took on powerful House Majority Leader John Perzel, R-172, Tuesday over the pay raise legislators gave themselves in July.

Gabig joined a small, bipartisan group of legislators at a Capitol press conference to talk about the introduction of two bills — one by Rep. Tom Creighton, R-37, to rescind the pay raise and one by Gabig and Rep. Paul Clymer, R-145, to repeal the "unvouchered expense" that allows lawmakers to circumvent the state constitution and collect the pay raise immediately.

Both bills face long odds of coming to the House floor. As majority leader, Perzel has the power to determine what is voted on, and he strenuously defended the pay raise in several interviews last week.

"Apparently (Perzel) won't be signing on to the Creighton bill," Gabig quipped.

Still, he expressed hope that Perzel will soften and give his bill a chance.

102 votes needed

The Carlisle-area lawmaker conceded that more support is needed from those legislators who voted for the pay raise. Assuming every legislator who voted against the pay raise supports the bill, Gabig still needs 22 additional votes to reach the 102 needed to pass the House.

The proponents of repealing all or part of the legislative pay raise say they have some of those additional votes but acknowledged they are more than a dozen shy of a majority.

"You get this to the floor, it passes," said Rep. Tom Tangretti, a Westmoreland County Democrat who voted against the pay raise and was one of nine lawmakers at the news conference.

Gabig's bill, introduced late last week, has 45 co-sponsors so far. It would repeal the unvouchered expense loophole and, Gabig says, uphold the state constitution's provision that the Legislature cannot raise its own salary in the middle of a session.

"Whether you think we're overpaid or underpaid, the focus of the unvouchered expense bill is to uphold the constitution," he said. "I haven't heard (Perzel) specifically say anything about the unvouchered expense bill."

No comment

Beth Williams, spokeswoman for Perzel, said her boss has not seen either of the bills and cannot comment on them.

A multitude of factors will determine whether either bill is scheduled for a House vote, she added, such as what takes place in committee, how much support the bills have and whether the Senate and governor will support them. Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, has said he will sign Gabig's bill if it reaches his desk.

"The speaker has said that he does support the pay raise, and he's entitled to his opinion just as others are entitled to theirs," she added.

The legislation, passed in the early morning hours of July 7, boosted lawmakers' compensation by 16 percent to 34 percent and also raised the salaries of judges, county prosecutors and top executive branch officials. The legislation provoked outrage from many Pennsylvania residents and the conservative wing of the Republican Party, which criticized the measure during the party's annual state convention last weekend.

When questioned by a reporter there Saturday on whether he would allow floor debate on a pay raise repeal bill once the GOP-controlled Legislature reconvenes later this month, Perzel said, "Not without 102 votes."

The Philadelphia lawmaker, whose own salary increased 34 percent from about $109,000 to nearly $146,000, said the pay raise is warranted because state representatives have to skip important personal events and respond to constituent pleas for help at inconvenient times throughout the year, not just when they are at the Capitol.

‘Worst corruption'

Perzel's defense of the pay raise missed the mark with Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12.

"The recent pay raise vote represents the worst corruption I've seen in seven years," Metcalfe said during Tuesday's press conference. "The legislators who passed the legislation and the governor who signed it into law should remember they were elected as public servants."

Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, noted the pay raise makes Pennsylvania legislators and Supreme Court justices the second-highest-paid of any state in the U.S.

"Public opposition has to be sustained at least into the primary so we make members fear losing their seats," Vitali said. "So the answer to the question of how we can get members to move these bills is by keeping up the public pressure."

House Majority Leader Sam Smith of Jefferson County told the Associated Press Tuesday that Republicans would discuss the repeal bills privately. "We recognize that there's controversy with this and we'll certainly air that out."

Senate leaders did not respond to AP requests for comment Tuesday. The Senate reconvenes Monday after more than 10 weeks of summer vacation. Both houses will be in session Sept. 26.

Source: http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/news02.txt

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