Members'
and Employees' Expenses
A member who attends
a duly called meeting of a standing or special committee of which he or she is
a member when the House is not in session or who is summoned to the State
Capitol or elsewhere by the Speaker, or the Majority or Minority Leader of the
House, to perform legislative services when the House is not in session shall
be reimbursed per day for each day of service, plus mileage to and from the
member's residence, at such rates as are established from time to time by the
Committee on Rules but not in excess of the applicable maximum mileage rate
authorized by the Federal Government. For travel
to any location for committee
meetings or for travel to the State Capitol for any reason, members cannot
receive reimbursement in excess of the applicable maximum per diem rate
authorized by the Federal Government. These expenses shall be paid by the Chief
Clerk from appropriation accounts under the Chief Clerk's exclusive control and
jurisdiction, upon a written request approved by the Speaker of the House, or
the Majority or the Minority Leader of the House.
An employee of the
House summoned by the Speaker or the Majority or Minority Leader of the House
to perform legislative services outside of Harrisburg shall be reimbursed for
actual expenses and mileage to and from the employee's residence. Such expenses
may be paid by the Speaker, Majority or Minority Leader, if they agree to do
so, or shall be paid by the Chief Clerk from appropriation accounts under the
Chief Clerk's exclusive control and jurisdiction, upon a written request
approved by the Speaker, or the Majority or the Minority Leader. District
office employees are only permitted to be reimbursed from an account under the
control of the Chief Clerk when traveling to Harrisburg for a training program
sponsored by either caucus or for travel to a legislative conference approved
by the Speaker, the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader. All other travel by
district office employees may be reimbursed from the member's accountable
expenses or an account under the control of the Speaker, the Majority Leader or
the Minority Leader.
Members and
employees traveling outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who receive any
reimbursement for expenses or travel which reimbursement is from public funds
shall file with the Chief Clerk a statement containing his or her name and the
name, place, date and the purpose of the function.
Money appropriated
specifically to and allocated under a specific symbol number for allowable
expenses of members of the House of Representatives shall be reimbursed to each
member upon submission of vouchers and any required documentation by each
member on forms prepared by the Chief Clerk of the House. No reimbursement
shall be made from this account where a member is directly reimbursed for the
same purpose from any other appropriation account.
Such allowable
expenses of members may be used for any legislative purpose or function,
including but not limited to the following:
(1) Travel expense
on legislative business.
(a)
Mileage on session or nonsession days at a rate as may be approved from time to
time by the Committee on Rules, but not in excess of the maximum mileage rate
authorized by the Federal Government for travel; voucher only.
(b)
Miscellaneous transportation on legislative business (taxi, airport limousine
parking, tolls), and expenses of a similar nature; voucher only for any single
expense not in excess of $10.
(c) Travel
on legislative business by common carrier other than taxi and airport
limousine; voucher and receipt from common carrier.
(d) Car
rental; voucher and receipt from rental agency but reimbursement not to exceed
in any month an amount as may be approved from time to time by the Committee on
Rules. Any amount in excess of the said amount shall be paid by the person
renting the car. In no event shall other than American manufactured cars be
rented.
(e)
Lodging, restaurant charges and other miscellaneous and incidental expenses
while away from home. Vouchers only for per diem allowance approved from time
to time by the Committee on Rules, but not in excess of the applicable maximum
per diem rate authorized by the Federal Government or for actual expenses not
in excess of such per diem rate.
(2) Administrative,
clerical and professional services for legislative business, except for
employment of spouses or any relatives, by blood or marriage.
(a)
Administrative and clerical services; voucher and receipt from person employed.
(b)
Professional services; voucher and receipt and copy of agreement or contract of
employment.
(3) Rent for
legislative office space; purchase of office supplies; postage; telephone and
answering services; printing services and rental only of office equipment;
voucher and vendor's receipt, except for postage expense. No reimbursement or
expenditure shall be made out of any appropriation account for any mass mailing
including a bulk rate mailing made at the direction or on behalf of any member
which is mailed or delivered to a postal facility within 60 days immediately
preceding any primary or election at which said member is a candidate for
public office.
Mass mailing shall
mean a newsletter or similar mailing of more than 50 pieces in which the
content of the matter is substantially identical. Nothing in this rule shall
apply to any mailing which is in direct response to inquiries or requests from
persons to whom matter is mailed, which is addressed to colleagues in the
General Assembly or other government officials or which consists entirely of
news releases to the communications media.
(4) Official
entertainment restaurant and beverage charges; voucher only for expenses.
Receipts for entertainment expenses, together with a statement of the reason
for the expense, shall be submitted with the request for reimbursement.
(5) Purchase of
flags, plaques, publications, photographic services, books, and other similar
items in connection with legislative activities; voucher and vendor's receipt.
(6) Communications
and donations in extending congratulations or sympathy of illness or death;
voucher only on expenses not in excess of $35.
No money
appropriated for members' and employees' expenses shall be used for
contributions to political parties or their affiliated organizations or to
charitable organizations or for charitable advertisements.
A member shall not
create, maintain or cause to be created or maintained a legislative nonprofit
organization. A "legislative nonprofit organization" means a
nonprofit corporation or other entity whose primary purpose is to receive funds
under the General Appropriation Act or another appropriations act at the
discretion or by reason of the influence of a member for the use at the
direction or discretion of the member. The Ethics Committee shall issue to any
member upon such member's request an opinion with respect to such member's
duties under this rule. The Ethics Committee shall, within 14 days, issue the
opinion. No member who acts in good faith on an opinion issued to that member
by the Ethics Committee shall be subject to any sanctions for so acting,
provided that the material facts are as stated in the opinion request. The
Ethics Committee's opinions shall be public records and may from time to time
be published. The member requesting the opinion may, however, require that the
opinion shall contain such deletions and changes as shall be necessary to
protect the identity of the persons involved.
No money may be
expended within 60 days before a primary election or within 60 days before a
general election in even-numbered years for:
(i) purchase of or
the reimbursement for the purchase of any radio or television broadcast time
for public service announcements that depict the name, voice or image of a
member; or
(ii) payment for
telemarketing activities on behalf of a member. This prohibition shall not
apply to limited surveys to determine public opinion on various issues.
Members and employees shall not
request reimbursement for the private lease of vehicles leased on a long-term
basis. No payments will be made with respect to private, long-term lease
vehicle expenses incurred by members or employees except with respect to
private, long-term lease arrangements entered into by a member prior to the
effective date of this rule, payments for which will be made in accord with the
rules in place on the day before the effective date of this rule. The Chief
Clerk is authorized to enter into a master lease agreement with the Department
of General Services for the long-term lease of automobiles.
All disbursements
made, debts incurred or advancements paid from any appropriation account made
to the House or to a member or nonmember officer under a General Appropriation
Act or any other appropriation act shall be recorded in a monthly report and
filed with the Chief Clerk by the person authorized to make such disbursement,
incur any debt or receive any advancement on a form prescribed by the Chief
Clerk.
The Chief Clerk
shall prescribe the form of all such reports and make such forms available to
those persons required to file such reports. Such report form shall include:
(1) As to
personnel:
(a) The
name, home address, job title, brief description of duties and where they are
performed, department or member or members to whom assigned, the name of
immediate supervisor and minimum hours of employment per week of each employee.
(b) The
appropriation account from which such employee is compensated, the amount of
compensation and whether such person is on salary, per diem or contract.
(2) As to all
other expenditures:
(a) To whom
it was paid, the amount thereof, and the nature of the goods, services or other
purpose for which the expenditure was made.
(b) The
appropriation account from which the expenditure was made and the name or names
of the person or persons requesting and/or authorizing the same.
A copy of each
such report shall also be filed with the Special Committee on Internal Affairs
and House Administration for use in the performance of its duties under Rule
47(a).
The reporting
requirements as to personnel may be fulfilled by the maintenance in the Office
of the Chief Clerk of the House of an alphabetized file containing the current
information for each employee as set forth above.
All monthly
reports filed on disbursements made or debts incurred by any officer or member
or employee from appropriations made to the House or to a member or nonmember
officer under any General Appropriation Act, and the documentation for each
disbursement, shall be public information and shall be available for public
inspection during regular business hours in the office of the Chief Clerk. The
Chief Clerk shall prescribe reasonable rules and regulations for inspection of
such reports but in no case shall inspection be denied to any person for a
period exceeding 48 hours (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) from the time a
written request has been submitted to the Chief Clerk. Photocopies of such
reports shall be made available upon request to a member at no charge or to the
public for a duplication fee as may be fixed by the Chief Clerk. Such reports
shall be made available to a member or to the public on or before the last day
of the month next succeeding the month in which the report was filed.
All vouchers and
requisitions relating to all expenditures, expenses, disbursements and other
obligations out of all appropriated funds of the House, and the documentation
evidencing payment of the vouchers and requisitions, shall be available for
public inspection during regular business hours in the office of the Chief
Clerk or at such other location within the Capitol as the Chief Clerk shall
prescribe. Nothing in this rule shall permit release of any information deemed
confidential, including, but not limited to, a telephone number or call
history, a credit card number and a Social Security number or a federal or a
state tax identification number.
All requests to
review payroll and independent contractor records of the House or any other
vouchers or requisitions for funds appropriated to the House shall be made to
the Chief Clerk, in writing, at least three working days prior to the date on
which the review is requested. The request shall be signed by the party who
will be making the review and it shall indicate the name of the organization or
entity employing such individual. The Chief Clerk shall establish a time during
normal business hours for the review to occur and he shall provide that the
review shall not interfere with the necessary functioning of the Chief Clerk's
office.
All requests for
reimbursement out of any appropriation shall be accompanied by a voucher, or
other documents where required, evidencing payment or approval. All requests
for reimbursement out of any appropriation payable to a member, nonmember
officer or employee shall be void if not submitted within 90 days of the date
that the otherwise allowable expense is incurred for any and all otherwise
allowable expenses, including without limitation, per diem, mileage and actual
expenses incurred at any time from the adoption of this rule. Any such void request
for reimbursement may not be paid except pursuant to a motion to suspend this
rule for good cause specific to the voided request for reimbursement. The
voucher form shall be approved and supplied by the Chief Clerk. Receipts or
documentation of every expenditure or disbursement which is in excess of the
maximum amount as set forth herein shall be attached to the voucher. Where a
request for payment is made in advance of an expense actually incurred, the
Chief Clerk, before making such advance payment shall require a description
satisfactory to the Chief Clerk of the item or service to be purchased or the
expense to be incurred, and a receipt or other documentation shall be given to
the Chief Clerk after the item or service has been purchased or expense incurred
as evidence that such advancement was in fact expended for such purpose.
All reports,
vouchers and receipts from which reports are prepared and filed shall be
retained by the Chief Clerk, officer or member, as the case may be, for such
period of time as may be necessary to enable the Legislative Audit Advisory
Commission created pursuant to the act of June 30, 1970 (P.L.442, No.151), entitled "An act implementing the provisions of Article VIII, section 10
of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, by designating the Commonwealth officers
who shall be charged with the function of auditing the financial transactions
after the occurrence thereof of the Legislative and Judicial branches of the
government of the Commonwealth, establishing a Legislative Audit Advisory
Commission, and imposing certain powers and duties on such commission," to
conduct, through certified public accountants appointed by it, annual audits to
assure that such disbursements made or debts incurred were in accordance with
Legislative Audit Advisory Commission guidelines and standards as approved by
the Committee on Rules, or for a minimum of three years, whichever is longer.
All annual audit reports shall be available for public inspection. Photocopies
of such reports shall be available for a fee established by the Chief Clerk not
to exceed the cost of duplication.
Except as
specifically prohibited by law or limited by this rule, all expenditures of
funds appropriated to the House or to a member or nonmember officer shall be
subject to the expenditure guidelines established by the Rules Committee. The
Rules Committee shall establish standards regarding documentation evidencing
payment out of any appropriations account made to the House or to a member or
nonmember officer.
RULE
14 (a)
Employee
Payroll Information
In accordance with
the act of January 10, 1968 (1967 P.L.925, No.417), referred to as the
Legislative Officers and Employes Law, the Chief Clerk shall compile, annually,
on or prior to the first day of February of each year, a complete list of
employees of the House of Representatives. The list shall include the full
name, job title, work address and name of immediate supervisor of every
employee of the House of Representatives and shall include such information for
every person employed for any period of time during the preceding 12 months. In
addition to the information required under the Legislative Officers and
Employes Law, the list shall include the payroll wage information for those
House employees paid during the preceding calendar year. The list shall be
available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief Clerk during regular
business hours.
RULE
14 (b)
Electronic
Availability of Reports
In addition to the
other methods of availability under Rule 14, all expense reports shall be
provided electronically by the Chief Clerk upon request.
