Jun 15, 2015 3 min read

Lavish dinners and Super Bowl tickets are fine, but not on a lobbyist’s dime. That was the message stressed by a state government “reform caucus” during a news conference in Harrisburg Monday, at which time the group discussed legislation to prevent elected officials from accepting gifts.

State Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth, sponsored the House version of the gift reform bill, which is currently being reviewed by a committee. Some exceptions are written into the bill to allow legislators to accept small items given as a show of gratitude – T-shirts, cookies or a cup of coffee, for instance – while prohibiting legislators from accepting gifts intended to influence policy, including transportation, lodging and hospitality.

“People have lost their faith in government,” said Saccone, a member of the Government Reform Caucus. “We all know this. We see it every day. We hear it when we go back home.”

With no formal law prohibiting the practice in Pennsylvania, it is not uncommon for elected officials to accept gifts, Saccone said. While some legislators support a “total gift ban,” members of the bicameral, bipartisan caucus said Saccone’s version of the bill is more likely to pass.

“We’re trying to do something that is practical, meaningful and passable,” said state Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Dauphin/Perry, who said he would support a total gift ban.

Teplitz and state Sen. John Eichelberger, R-Blair, are co-sponsoring the Senate version of the bill.

“In theory, I support a total gift ban, but when you do that it gets ridiculous,” Saccone said.

He and other members of the caucus described Gov. Tom Wolf’s total gift ban for state workers as a step in the right direction. The ban, which applies to all state employees and appointees but not to legislators, was imposed in January through an executive order.

But state Rep. George Dunbar, R-Westmoreland, felt Wolf’s ban went too far.

“I, for one, would not support a complete and total gift ban because it certainly is impractical in the way it would be carried out,” said Dunbar, caucus co-chair.

He described a tour he attended of a milk-processing facility and said an employee of the Department of Agriculture was forced to turn down a cold beverage in fear of violating the gift ban. Others said a total ban could potentially put legislators at risk if they accept gifts from friends and family.

State legislators and other high-ranking state officials accepted more than $160,000 in gifts last year, according to ethics reports reviewed by the Associated Press. Government officials must report gifts valued at more than $250, or when meals, hospitality or travel from a single source amounts to at least $650 a year.

Two state representatives recently pleaded guilty to conflict of interest for accepting cash from an undercover lobbyist. It is illegal to accept money or gifts in exchange for official action.

Saccone said the idea of his bill is to change the culture of government in Pennsylvania.

“It would force us to conduct business differently than we have in the past,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.