HARRISBURG, PA — On Wed. the PA House voted on a measure to prevent its members from being paid by lobbying firms. The measure was voted down after a unanimous affirmative vote was reversed, mostly along party lines.
House Republicans pushed to forbid the ability of lawmakers – who are also lawyers – to be employed by lobbyists in order to avoid conflict of interest between lawmaking and affiliation with special interest groups. Their Democrat counterparts reversed the vote to bar this practice on the grounds that it violated separation of powers by regulating the legal profession.
House members earn in excess of $78 per year; at least two dozen are also lawyers, and some continue to practice law to earn even more. Currently, no one among PA’s registered lobbyists is also a lawmaker. However, the absence of preventive measure allows potential for corruption like that of former Sen. Vince Fumo.
To read “Lobbying issue puts spotlight on lawmaker-lawyers,” by Mark Scolforo (The Associated Press), please click: http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-71/1233874480311110.xml&storylist=penn&thispage=1
