HARRISBURG - A bill to ban cash gifts with some exceptions for state and local public officials and employees was approved Monday by a Senate panel as the sponsor cited the lessons of the recent Luzerne County public corruption scandal.
The vote by the State Government Committee is in response to revelations last month that four House lawmakers took large cash gifts from a confidential state informant during a sting operation but didn't report them.
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, Lehman Township, told the panel she drafted the bill thinking of how to address the more than 30 public officials in Luzerne County snared by the federal corruption probe.
Many of those officials took cash gifts but didn't disclose them as required by law, Baker said.
The state needs to tighten ethics laws to attack a culture of corruption, said Sen. John Yudichak, D-14, Plymouth Township, a panel member who voted for the bill.
The measure, applying to lawmakers and state and local elected and appointed public officials, as well as state and local public employees, would cover currency, money orders, checks, prepaid debt or credit cards and gift cards.
It would provide exceptions for political campaign contributions, commercial loans made during the ordinary course of business, gifts from immediate family members and other close relatives, including stepparents and siblings-in-law not linked to official action and gifts offered to the general public or prizes in a public contest.
Also, the bill creates an exception for a cash gift involving a "reasonable consideration of equal or greater value."
The above phrase is designed to cover small transactions such as an official borrowing $5 for parking that will be paid back later and is standard for laws in other states, said Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-9, Chester.
The bill would prohibit taking cash gifts from lobbyists or someone seeking an official action such as a vote for a bill or contract.
Baker's bill clears a first hurdle as calls continue for a wider ban on all gifts including tangible gifts and gifts of hospitality, transportation and lodging.
Baker and Yudichak said they are considering bills for wider gift bans. The state government committee will hold a hearing April 28 on the subject.