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Our opinion: Rewarding a lack of work in state

Republicans and Democrats in the state House of Representatives will continue to play the political game until later this month.

The House won’t meet in session until Feb. 27, nearly three weeks after special elections are held that will finally decide the House majority.

But, for the last month, the stalemate over the chamber’s majority and inability to compromise on the House of Representatives’ rules have rendered the chamber essentially useless. Rep. Mark Rozzi the erstwhile speaker, gave up on legislating after giving Republicans an ultimatum over legislation allowing child sex abuse victims to file lawsuits. Republicans responded by attaching legislation opposed by Democrats to the sex abuse legislation. Unable to come to agreement, Rozzi declared the session in recess.

Since then, both sides have done little. Republicans have held hearings while blaming Democrats for the House recess. Rozzi has held listening sessions throughout the state, while Democrats blame Republicans for the legislative gridlock.

Meanwhile, House members continue to be paid even though not a single bill has officially been introduced in the House. Committee hearings aren’t being held because there are no bills to review and because committees haven’t been formed.

If our politicians want to play political games at the expense of doing the people’s work, perhaps they should be forced to do so for free. As Phil Muschick, a columnist for the Morning Call in Lehigh Valley, noted recently, each House member will have been paid at least $17,140 for the two months the House has been stuck in neutral for a conservative estimate of $3.4 million in total.

It takes some serious gall to pull such a stunt months after facing and being elected to office. If legislators were serious about avoiding this garbage in the future, the first thing they’d do when they finally get back into session is pass an amendment saying legislators will no longer be paid if they decide not to work in the future.

If taxpayers choose not to work, the repercussion is taxpayers don’t get paid. Why should it be any different for our state legislators?

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