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At a news conference on Thursday, Gov. Wolf called on the legislature to champion good government and curb the influence of special interests.
Wolf himself, by special order of Jan. 20 of this year, severely limited any type of gift received by him or his staff.
He encouraged legislators to also adopt these restrictions, which he said serve to build public trust in government.
Wolf also addressed imposing limits on campaign contributions and disclosure of outside income, touting them as measures that would increase transparency in government.
“Pennsylvanians need to have confidence in the decisions made by their government — that those decisions are the product of a robust competition of ideas — not rewards to special interests with the deepest pockets,” the governor said.
In response, Sen. Lisa Baker said, “Given the scandals that have plagued state government and the declining confidence of voters in the system, it is imperative for each branch of state government to implement substantial reform measures.”
Baker, R-Lehman Township, said a gift ban is a necessary and sensible step for legislators to take.
“For me, the tipping point on a gift ban came with the disclosure that legislators had been caught on tape accepting cash tied to votes,” she said.
The Senate, she said, had amended its Rules of Ethical Conduct to prohibit cash gifts for the last two sessions.
Baker said she had introduced Senate Bill 265 to make the change in the statute and to expand it to include all legislators, public officials and public employees.
“It passed the Senate unanimously during the 2013-14 session, but was never acted on in the House,” she said. “This session, it was referred to the State Government Committee with no further action at this time.”
Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R – Kingston, also supports that bill and hopes it eventually becomes law.
In a recent phone interview, Kaufer emphasized the importance of transparency in regard to members of government, especially when it comes to large gifts, lobbyists spending monies on officials in hope of garnering their favor, or any appearance of “buying votes.”
He did however, add a caveat to his comments.
“From my understanding, Gov. Wolf’s ban would mean that we couldn’t even accept a cup of coffee or a glass of water from a constituent, nor could we offer them one,” he said.
“I believe in the common sense approach,” he said. “If someone comes to my office, I want to be able to share a cup of coffee with them. That’s not inappropriate, it’s courteous and hospitable.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
