EDITORIAL: Legislators, show us the receipts for your expenses

Jun. 12—The first real political scandal in the newborn United States — and an excellent second act number in a Broadway musical — is the Reynolds Affair. In 1791, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton had a relationship with a married woman, whose husband subsequently blackmailed the politician. When the tawdry mess was uncovered, Hamilton openly admitted it, and yes, just like in the song, he had receipts to back up his story.

In the end, the scandal destroyed Hamilton's political future, but the proof helped secure a legacy. Until Lin-Manuel Miranda brought him to the stage, most people remembered him for gracing the $10 bill, not cheating on his wife.

That's a little bit of history Pennsylvania

legislators should consider as a bill from state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, winds its way through the legislative process.

Williams is working on a proposal that would require complete, updated and accurate postings of taxpayer-funded expenses online. One page for senators and one for House members.

The idea is a bright ray of sunshine on records that have been historically dim. Do you know what per diems your local representative or senator has taken? Do they use state vehicles or do they take mileage reimbursement? What expenses have they claimed?

Public money should be publicly traceable, and it should not require a deep dive to find out. Right to Know Law requests should never be necessary to find out such basic information.

The right of the people to know has always gone hand in hand with the right to know about the money. Who is getting the money? What did it buy? Who provided it and why?

Penn State — which is sometimes isolated from Right to Know requests because of its position as a state-related rather than state institution — presents the cost of its trustee meetings in black and white without being asked. The university can tell you that the Feb. 18-19 meeting cost $8,479.85. Why can't the 253 state legislators give their accounts as openly?

"Oftentimes, citizens or journalists who want to see how legislators spend their allotted budgets face obstacles in obtaining that information," Williams said in a Spotlight PA story.

Both House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster County, and a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, have said they want to improve transparency.

Let's hope this means all legislators will work together to resolve the issue quickly and openly. There is no reason for lawmakers to not be crystal clear about expenditures.

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