Return of Pennsylvania Legislature's Reserves?
An audit of the General Assembly found there is $200 million in legislative surplus, and called for most of it to be returned to the taxpayers who paid for it (that is to back to the state to be spent on other things). The Tribune-Review and Associated Press also have stories on this. The full audit is posted on Rep. Josh Shapiro's site, and can be downloaded here.
This $200 million would help close the current budget gap, which we should try to do without putting federal taxpayers (and yes, Gov. Rendell, Pennsylvania residents pay federal taxes) on the hook for a bailout of states.
3 comments:
The audit is nice but the Check Register has the details of who is paid and how much and,perhaps, for what. This is where the Caucus Leaders can manipulate money to favor those they support, particularly, incumbents. Putting the Check Register Online, listing ALL payments from ALL Legislative Leadership Accounts. Endless hours of fun tracking which of your neighbors is getting paid by the Harrisburg Incumbent Establishment. I do, however, look forward to seeing the Audit Online on Rep. Shapiro's web site.
Note 3 discloses the ongoing use of the "Advance Appropriation Method" of making disbursements. The note also discloses the method by which expenses paid from these accounts are to be documented. There is no mention of the scope of audit procedures, if any, to which these accounts have been subjected. This is a potentially HUGE hole in internal accounting control. I'd like to know a lot more about the scope of any audit procedures to which these accounts have been subjected. Better yet, the "advance appropriation method" of disbursing taxpayer money should cease.
Thanks Betty. I had never heard of "Advance Appropriation Method". We could save a lot of money if Legislative Leaders put Check Register Online and we would all be mini auditors.
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