Wolf to impose 'No, thank you' Rule on Appointees [View all]
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Wolf plans to sign an executive order to prohibit gifts even though state law allows officials to accept gifts worth up to $250 without reporting them, or gifts worth more than that amount if disclosed. The law sets a $650 threshold for travel, hospitality and lodging.
Critics during Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's campaign pointed to his acceptance of legally allowed gifts, totaling more than $28,000 during his tenure, from tickets to sporting events and Broadway shows to a free yacht vacation.
In his Campaign for a Fresh Start, Pennsylvania governor-elect, Democrat Tom Wolf spelled out his rule on gifts — for himself, his Governor's Office staff, and his appointees to state agencies and boards: “The rule will be easy to apply and easy to report — no free lunches, no free tickets to ball games, and no free trips to conferences or vacation resorts. If you come and work for Tom Wolf in Harrisburg, there will be no ‘gifts' as part of your job.”
Barry Kauffman, lobbyist for Common Cause of Pennsylvania, said the rule is “strong incentive to do the right thing. It means you'll be beholden to no one.”
Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7133693-74/wolf-gifts-rule#ixzz3IoA2UhcA
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook
Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/7133693-74/wolf-gifts-executive#axzz3IkgdSNWT
Good for Governor-elect Wolf - off to a fine start. Sadly, it will be a cold day in hell before the state legislators of either party agree to apply such a rule to themselves. I worked for the Democratic Caucus of the PA House for 10 years. On session days, legislators from both parties routinely attended hot breakfast buffets in the Capitol rotunda, sponsored by lobbyists/special interest groups. They were also taken out to restaurants by lobbyists most evenings they were in the state capitol. And OH! all the college/professional sports outings where they were wined and dined in private, luxury boxes. Then there were the golf outings. Most outrageously, the overwhelming majority of these state legislators collected their undocumented per diems for food, even though they rarely paid for even a can of soda.
= new reply since forum marked as read