Taxpayers foot huge bill to run Pa.’s full-time legislature, but are blocked from many details. • Spotlight PA

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Taxpayers foot huge bill to run Pa.’s full-time legislature, but are blocked from many details.

About $20 million went into Pennsylvania lawmakers’ pockets over four years in the form of reimbursements for meals, mileage subsidies, per diems, and other expenses.

Taxpayers foot huge bill to run Pa.’s full-time legislature, but are blocked from many details

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Mike Wereschagin, Brad Bumsted, and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

A web of expense accounts, few reporting requirements, and questionable claims of “legislative privilege” help keep lawmaker spending obscured — and the public in the dark.

An illustration showing some of the legal bill redactions made by the PA legislature.

Pa. legislature must show proof before redacting legal bills, court finds

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

As it stands now, the public can request information on legislative expenses through the state’s public records law, but getting those documents can take weeks and sometimes longer if there is a dispute over access.

The public could gain easy access to info about how Pa. lawmakers spend taxpayer money on perks

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA

In the first nine months of 2021, the legislature’s legal bills totaled $3.5 million.

Pa. legislature’s redacted legal bills flout court ruling, leave taxpayers guessing

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

The legislature provided more than 4,100 pages of records, but information was often heavily redacted.

See the reasons why Pennsylvania’s legislature paid millions to outside law firms in 2019 and 2020 (FULL LIST)

by Angela Couloumbis of Spotlight PA and Sam Janesch of The Caucus

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