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PACleanSweep Issues Legislative Report Card
PACleanSweep, the non-partisan organization that
helped Pennsylvanians begin to reclaim state
government after the 2005 pay raise, today released a
report card for all members of the General Assembly,
issuing a final grade to each according to their
performance.
The assessment reaches back to cover major policy
initiatives enacted by the state since 1998, including
the stadium funding and legislative pension increase
bills under the Ridge administration. Also receiving
attention are major initiatives advanced on Ed
Rendell's watch including a 10 percent increase in the
state's personal income tax rate in 2003, the slots bill
and the infamous pay raise with its accompanying
unvouchered expenses provisions.
Lawmakers' positions on three failed attempts to
partially solve the continuing property tax problem over
the past ten years are taken into account, as is length
of service beyond ten years, to reflect the preference by
75 percent of Pennsylvanians for legislative term
limits, according to a recent poll.
While efforts to reform state government are relatively
new developments in the General Assembly, each
chamber's members were given credit where due for
their personal commitment to change, evidenced
either by their signature on the PACleanSweep
candidate declaration last year or their
co-sponsorship on one of two existing bills to enable
a
constitutional convention.
Finally, participation in what some have dubbed
the "Incumbent Protection Plan" was calculated into
final grades through a weighted scoring system on the
most self-serving pieces of legislation highlighted by
the report card, by assessing each member's radio
and television public service announcement spending
during 2005-06, and for the involvement of their
respective caucus leaders in the
unresolved "Bonusgate" affair.
Members are listed on the report card alphabetically
by default, but visitors can also sort the list by seniority,
county or legislative district for ease of use. Sorting by
seniority, due to the format of the report card, reveals a
distinct tendency by long term lawmakers to support
more egregious pieces of legislation over the years.
Visitors are provided a complete explanation of the
grading system employed in the report card and links
are provided to the text of each piece of
legislation highlighted.
Clicking on a lawmaker's name within the report card
will open a new window with a more detailed look at
that individual's legislative career, leadership role,
committee assignments and district voter registration
statistics. Also included on each lawmaker's page is
an opportunity for citizens to provide additional
credible information regarding the
individual's job performance in the General Assembly.
The report card will serve as a reference for all
Pennsylvania voters during the 2008 election cycle.
Any major statewide initiatives enacted in the future
will be added and figured into each lawmaker's grade.
All 203 members of the House of Representatives
face re-election in 2008, as do the 25 Senators from
odd-numbered districts.
View the Legislative Report Card
About PACleanSweep
PACleanSweep is a non-partisan effort dedicated to
reforming state government in Pennsylvania. For
more information, please visit
www.PACleanSweep.com.
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