HARRISBURG, Pa. – The state House today in Harrisburg approved a bill introduced by local state Rep. Brad Roae (R-Crawford/Erie) that would ban state legislators from using state-leased or state-owned cars.
“Taxpayers are struggling right now to pay for their own cars and fill them up with gasoline,” Roae said. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying to provide state legislators with state cars.”
Roae said he has never had a vehicle leased or owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
State legislators currently may choose to use a state-leased car with a lease payment of up to $650 per month.
Lawmakers like Roae who drive their own vehicles to work activities may submit for expense reimbursement, similar to the way most private-sector businesses reimburse employers for work-related travel expenses.
“Taxpayers are tired of seeing some lawmakers receive what appears to be special treatment,” Roae said.
Roae said eliminating state-leased cars for legislators also would reduce financial liability issues for the Commonwealth. He pointed to a situation where a previous legislator crashed three times in a state car. The last crash occurred while the former legislator was driving without a valid driver’s license and the legislator fled from the scene of the accident. In cases like this, taxpayers could be forced to pay for some of the damage caused by the state-leased car.
Roae has been promoting legislative reform initiatives since he first took office in 2007 in the wake of the 2005 legislative pay raise. He served on the House speaker’s commission on legislative reform that drastically altered the way the House operates by opening the lawmaking process to more public scrutiny and transparency.
Roae’s House Bill 746 now heads to the state Senate for consideration.
