Pa. legislature's surplus should go back to treasury, advisory board says

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, March, 2008 | by Mario F. Cattabiani Inquirer Staff Writer

HARRISBURG - For decades, what the Pennsylvania legislature didn't spend in one budget year it stashed away for the next in a practice widely criticized as wasteful hoarding. That could end soon, with tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, if not more, returned to the treasury. The joint House-Senate Legislative Audit Advisory Commission approved recommendations yesterday to change the accounting practices of the General Assembly, including returning some of its growing surplus.

"This is a new day," said Rep. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery), the commission's chairman. "And I think there is a new will to budget more responsibly and be more accountable to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania." Over the years, the legislative surplus has grown and it now stands at nearly $211 million....