House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

Posted:	November 21, 2019 12:20 PM
From:	Representative Tina M. Davis
To:	All House members
Subject:	Ban State Agency Use of Outside Lobbyists

For more than a decade, Pennsylvania agencies have been using public and taxpayer dollars to hire lobbyists and public relation firms in Harrisburg and Washington. While Commonwealth agencies play an integral role in shaping policy, this practice is nothing more than wasteful spending at the taxpayer’s expense. The expenditure of public funds should be used for education, public safety, property tax relief or other priorities that benefit taxpayers directly. Unfortunately, state agencies are using public funds to influence the General Assembly to protect themselves and their employees from meaningful reforms. Citizens should not be forced to fund the same lobbyists they may have to compete with at public hearings addressing state agency reductions and reforms. As such, I plan to introduce legislation that would prohibit Commonwealth agencies from using public funds for the purpose of lobbying other agencies. Join me in helping to ensure our citizens are not footing the bill for special interests in Harrisburg by supporting this commonsense legislation
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