His panel’s efforts laid the groundwork for the conviction last year of former Democratic House power broker Mike Veon and two aides on public corruption charges.
But the jurors went a step further.
Eleven months ago, they issued a written report that urged the Legislature to make widespread improvements, from hiring practices and staffing levels to constituent services and budget transparency.
Sterner came away convinced that a good portion of legislative operations exists largely to endear incumbents to voters for re-election purposes.
“The size of the Legislature is bloated and can be significantly reduced without harming the process,” said Sterner, a retired plant manager and management consultant from York County. “It’s your tax money and mine.”
The jurors knew their suggestions may not be welcomed inside the Capitol and expressed concern that the General Assembly would “remain in its ‘time warp’ and meddle with, obfuscate, ignore or kill every recommendation.”
To see if those fears have proven to be justified, the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors organization and the AP spent the past several months on a collaborative project, taking a fresh look at the size and operations of Pennsylvania’s 3,000-strong legislative staff.
The grand jury recounted testimony by the former director of staffing and administration for the House Democrats that the Legislature’s staff is three or four times larger than it needs to operate.
It also cited a an internal salary study by the House Republicans that only 60 percent of caucus staff in Harrisburg was needed to conduct legitimate legislative work.
Source http://dailylocal.com/
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