State+Politicians+Accept+Trips,+Meals,+Tickets

= State politicians accept trips, meals, tickets = = =

=By Laura Olson and Angela Couloumbis,= =//Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Philadelphia Inquirer//= =//5/4/11//=

=HARRISBURG - Conference trips to faraway places like China, India, and Ireland. Tickets to pro football games. Passes for pricey receptions and galas. Dinners galore.= =Even in these belt-tightening times, such gifts and travel are all part of the life of a Pennsylvania legislator, according to the latest statements of financial interest filed with the state Ethics Commission.= =In annual filings that were due Monday, some elected officials reported no gain in 2010 aside from the paycheck that comes with the job.= =Others accepted meals, trips, and assorted trinkets.= =Sen. John Pippy, R-Allegheny, spent more than a week in China and India last summer. The cost of more than $19,000 was picked up by the Aspen Institute Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership of Washington, D.C.= =The Legislative Leadership Institute Academy of Foreign Affairs in Green Bay, Wis., spent $12,293 to send Mr. Pippy for 10 days to Ireland and Switzerland in December.= =Reached for comment, Mr. Pippy said he learned about commerce in the nations he visited, and how Pennsylvania businesses can be more competitive globally. He said the trips, similar to others he went on through the groups in 2009, were educational and involved no direct lobbying.= =Rep. Peter Daley, D-Calfornia, reported $2,750 in ski passes from the Pennsylvania Ski Operators Association.= =Several, including Rep. Mark Mustio, R-Moon, listed donations to host legislative events in their districts. Mr. Mustio received $10,000 from various businesses to pay for the senior expo he hosted.= =Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, went to Dublin, Ireland, last August for a conference entitled "The European Union and the Euro - Prospects for the Future."= =The cost of the trip, $2,147, was picked up by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that aims to educate the "nation's top political leaders [on] "critical issues of the day."= =Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, onetime chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, watched the Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys in Texas in the first round of the NFL playoffs last January. The Eagles picked up the $670 tab for his ticket, dinner, and hotel, according to his report.= =Rep. Mike Vereb said Tuesday he didn't realize until much later the cost of a luncheon he and his wife attended during a Pennsylvania Society event in New York.= ="I'm not a New York type of guy, and I had no friggin' clue as to the amount," said Mr. Vereb, R-Montgomery. He disclosed the $1,017 cost, a gift of Alpha Natural Resources, a coal company. At least three other reports besides Mr. Vereb's listed "hospitality" from Alpha Natural Resources -- those from Reps. Paul Costa, D-Wilkins, Brian Ellis, R-Butler, and Jim Christiana, R-Beaver. = =Later that month, Mr. Evans reported, he received two tickets worth $2,000, compliments of the Philadelphia Orchestra, for the Academy of Music's white-tie anniversary gala.= =State law requires legislators and other officials to annually report any gifts worth more than $250, as well as travel, lodging, and hospitality worth more than $650.= =Some government-watchdog groups say gifts and freebies should be banned.= ="It's wrong, period," said Tim Potts, a former legislative aide and cofounder of the activist group Democracy Rising Pennsylvania. "If this is for legitimate state work, then the taxpayers ought to pay for it, not somebody coming in and asking for favors."= =Mr. Potts added: "The people who pay the money to give them these gifts expect something in return. If nothing else, they occupy that public official's time in ways constituents can't hope to compete with."= =Reached for comment Tuesday night, Mr. Evans said he disclosed his gifts, which also included a $915 trip to a conference in Arizona, hospitality, and travel as the law required. He said he did not let them influence decision-making. "Absolutely not," he said.= =The Associated Press contributed.= = = =Read more: [] =

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