But not to actual employees. They did that last time and lost a fair wage lawsuit because they did not pay minimum wage. That's why state workers are being furloughed this time around instead of getting IOUs. I would imagine PA workers would fall under the same wage laws. Maybe they will sue as well
Hundreds of lawsuits have already been filed from PA state employees.
And yet come next election, these same people will continue to get voted in. People have short memories. Remember the whole pay raise thing a few years back? Nobody else did at the polls either.
Really...
2005 Pennsylvania General Assembly pay raise controversy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the early morning hours of
July 7,
2005, the
Pennsylvania General Assembly passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials.
[1] The vote took place at 2 a.m. without public review or commentary and
Governor Ed Rendell signed the bill into law. The raise increased legislators' base pay from 16% to 34% depending on position.
[2]
{it] Provisions
The pay raise included a provision allowing legislators to take their raises immediately in the form of "unvouchered expenses." This provision was included due to the
Pennsylvania Constitution's clause prohibiting legislators from taking salary increases in the same term as which they are passed. State courts have ruled similar legislation to be constitutional on three separate occasions.
[edit] Reaction
Anger over the raise spawned several grass-roots movements, some geared toward voting out incumbents
[1] and some seeking support for a Constitutional Convention or a reduction in the size of the legislature.
[2] [3].
[edit] Political aftermath
Protestors from PACleanSweep in front of the
Pennsylvania State Capitol in
2005.
The first victim of the public uproar was Supreme Court Justice
Russell M. Nigro who became the first
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice to be denied retention. Nigro asserted that he had not taken part in the pay raise. However, critics noted that Chief Justice
Ralph Cappy helped draft the bill and that prior Court opinions upheld such practices.
On November 16, 2005, Governor Rendell signed a repeal of the pay raise after a near unanimous vote for repeal; only House Minority Whip
Mike Veon voted against the repeal.
[3]
Despite the repeal, a total of 17 legislators were defeated in the 2006 primary elections including Senate President Pro Tempore
Robert Jubelirer and Senate Majority Leader
David J. Brightbill. They were the first top-ranking Pennsylvania legislative leaders to lose a primary election since 1964.
The
November 2006 General Election claimed several more members who supported the pay raise including Reps. Gene McGill, Mike Veon, Matt Wright, Tom Gannon and Matthew Good.
[4] The defeats were widely attributed to anger over the pay raise.
Frank LaGrotta, who was defeated in the 2006 primary election over the pay raise issue, was one of many legislators who were paying back their unvouchered expenses in installments. After pleading guilty to two counts of conflict of interest for hiring relatives as "ghost employees," he stopped repayment and was even refunded the amount that he had previously returned.
[5]
7-10-2008 HARRISBURG -- Attorney General Tom Corbett today filed charges against a dozen figures in the payroll bonus scandal, including former House Democratic Whip Michael Veon and current state Rep. Sean Ramaley. Source Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Pennsylvania_General_Assembly_pay_raise_controversy
I can think of several others that are not DIS friendly.
