Fiscal Code Bill Sneaks In Spending — State Rep. Russ Diamond (R-102) is one of the good guys. He explains on his Facebook page why he voted against the final version of HB 1327 which made changes to the state’s fiscal code.
“This bill, HB1327, passed the House unanimously the first time around, when it was a small tweak to the fiscal code regarding investments by the State Workers’ Insurance Board,” he said. “But after the Senate loaded it up, I was forced to vote against it on concurrence.”
Commonwealth Foundation notes the final passage includes 45 earmarks that funnel more than $40 million to “lobbyist priorities.”
For instance one earmark gave $450,000 “to a multimunicipal revitalization organization in a county of the sixth class with a population, based on the most recent Federal decennial census, of at least 68,000 but not more than 70,000 for sidewalks and repairs associated with downtown revitalization.”
Another $1,500,000 earmark is set aside for “a physician practice plan serving a health system located in a city of the first class and a contiguous county of the second class A which did receive funding during fiscal year 2014-2015.”
Fiscal Code Bill Sneaks In Spending