Totalitarian Pennsylvania Update. (Part Two)

Herald Standard: Committee approves bonus ban bill

Six-figure bonuses for executives at the state's student loan agency drew the ire of Gov. Ed Rendell and some lawmakers.

Yeah...eventually.

The $3.6 million in bonuses the House and Senate handed out to aides drew the attention of the state Attorney General and sparked a grand jury investigation.

Ditto.

Now, Republican state senators are looking to draw a line when it comes to bonuses for all state employees.

Yippee!

On Tuesday, the state Senate State Government Committee unanimously approved a bill that would ban state employees from receiving bonuses.

The bill still has to go to the full Senate and the state House of Representatives before making it to Gov. Ed Rendell's desk.

We must keep the pressure on the Slow One and the other kleptocrats, kiddies. Never give them the chance to breathe.

Sen. John Eichelberger, a freshman Altoona Republican, introduced legislation that would have banned bonuses for state employees without a written payroll procedure for awarding extra pay.

But Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, a Dauphin County Republican, revised the bill to go farther, completely banning bonuses for all state employees.

Yes!

Both lawmakers said the bill is necessary in the wake of this year's bonus scandals.

"We generously compensate public servants in the commonwealth," Piccola said.

"If you want a system of bonuses in the private sector, no problem."

Simple, no?

Eichelberger used a reform platform to upset Senate President Pro Tempore Robert Jubelirer in the May primary election and captured the seat last November.

He supported Piccola's push for a stricter bonus ban.

"The citizens of Pennsylvania don't trust us, and I wouldn't either," Eichelberger said during the committee meeting. "People sign on knowing what the (state) salary is going to be and to do public service. . .we don't need to reward them at the end of the year."

I hope Mr. Eichelberger will run for higher office someday.

Executives at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which administers student loans, received bonuses totaling $573,838, according to published reports.

Rendell and some lawmakers called the raises outrageous and suggested a shakeup in leadership at the agency.

Meanwhile, a grand jury in Harrisburg is investigating staff bonuses paid to legislative aides totaling $3.6 million in 2005 and 2006. Attorney General Tom Corbett said he wants to find out if the bonuses were paid for legislative work or as rewards for staffers who worked on lawmakers' campaigns.

Legislative leaders have argued the bonuses were merit-based for legislative work.

HA!

However, leaders in both the House and Senate announced earlier this year they were eliminating all bonuses.

Exit "merit". Enter cronyism, stage left.