May. 08, 2017
HARRISBURG – Today, the House overwhelmingly approved legislation, sponsored by Rep. Scott Petri (R-Bucks) that would strengthen Pennsylvania laws governing public corruption.
House Bill 939 would hold state, county or municipal government officials and public employees, including judges, teachers and other school district employees, accountable for crimes related to their official duties by requiring them to forfeit their government pension and pay appropriate restitution when they plead guilty or no contest to any crime related to their official government position or any felony offense related to their office or employment. Petri’s bill would also impact federal crimes that are classified as felonies or are punishable by a term of at least five years in prison.
“As chairman of the House Ethics Committee last session, it was clear to me that our laws are inadequate when it comes to holding public officials truly accountable for criminal activity,” said Petri. “Time and again we see high-ranking public officials cutting deals under which they agree to plead guilty to a lesser crime – one that protects and preserves their lucrative public pensions – and our laws permit them to do so. That is why I reintroduced my bill this session to close this loophole, making Pennsylvania’s public corruption laws the toughest in the nation.”
Currently, the Public Employee Pension Forfeiture Act does not prevent public employees or public officials who are charged with a forfeiture crime from pleading to an offense that does not trigger pension forfeiture. Petri’s bill would remove this discretion, requiring offenders to face the real penalties associated with their crimes. This would also include payment of restitution for the victims of their crimes, often the taxpayers.
The House voted 190-1 this afternoon to approve House Bill 939, which is now on its way back to the Senate. The House passed the same legislation by an overwhelming margin last session, but the Senate failed to act on it.
Representative Scott Petri
178th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Donna Pinkham
dpinkham@pahousegop.com
RepPetri.com