Capitol staff must testify, say justices
House Democrats had tried to duck an inquiry into political activity by public employees.
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania's Supreme Court will not block subpoenas issued in a state investigation of taxpayer-funded bonuses for legislative staffers.
On Tuesday, the court denied all five motions filed by lawyers for the House Democratic caucus and seven of its employees, who received subpoenas to testify before a grand jury convened by Attorney General Tom Corbett.
Justice Thomas Saylor, the only justice facing a vote this year on a new 10-year term, did not participate in the decisions, according to the court's Web site.
When asked why, Saylor campaign spokesman Sean Connolly said he could not comment on a pending case. A call to Saylor's Harrisburg chambers went unanswered yesterday afternoon.
The grand jury's proceedings are confidential, and details about the investigation are sketchy.
It is said to be scrutinizing nearly $4 million in bonuses that the four legislative caucuses paid to their employees in the 2005-06 session. The main focus appears to be the House Democrats, who paid $1.6 million in bonuses in 2006, when they won a House majority for the first time in 12 years.
At issue is whether the bonuses were illegal rewards for campaign activity, which all caucus leaders deny, or legitimate incentives for hard work on behalf of the state government, as they contend.