Fewer Pa. lawmakers use state cars

HARRISBURG - Maybe it's starting to sink in.

Expecting public scrutiny of all their perks, Pennsylvania legislators have eschewed the chance to drive state cars in greater numbers than at any point in recent memory.

An even 100 state House and Senate members now have taxpayer-subsidized vehicles - a figure that is nearly half of what it was 16 years ago.

And freshmen lawmakers - some of whom campaigned against the perk - are fueling the continued dropoff this term. All but six of the 34 representatives and senators first elected in November are driving their own cars.

"The taxpayers shouldn't be burdened with this, especially in these tough economic times," Rep. Frank Farry (R., Bucks) said last week.

When he knocked on doors campaigning last year, Farry vowed that, unlike his opponent at the time, incumbent Chris King, he would not drive a car from the state fleet if elected. He has kept his pledge.

"I didn't get elected for the state to supply me a car," he added. "That's my responsibility. I'm not here to nickel and dime the taxpayers."

But Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown (D., Phila.) is making no excuses for grabbing the keys to a state-owned 2008 Chevy Uplander, which costs taxpayers about $390 a month, not including gas.

Her 1998 Cadillac died in the later stages of her campaign and, after winning office, she simply couldn't afford a replacement, the former welfare recipient said.

"This is a very sensitive subject for me because I don't want to be in a position to be beat up over this," she told a reporter when asked about her state car. "It is a tool necessary for me to fight for the people."

The other freshmen driving state cars are Reps. Kenyatta Johnson (D., Phila.), Dom Costa and Daniel Deasy, both Allegheny County Democrats, and Sens. Lawrence Farnese (D., Phila.) and Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery).

State cars are among a long list of pricey and controversial legislative perks.

Besides their base salary of $78,315, lawmakers also get per diems - up to $158 to cover meal and lodging expenses each day they show up to work in the Capitol - a generous pension program, and top-of-the-line health benefits.

Pennsylvania and California are the only states that offer all their state lawmakers access to subsidized cars. But the rules have changed in the Keystone State in recent years.

After the 2005 pay-raise debacle, the Senate and later the House began phasing out a decades-old policy that allowed legislators to lease vehicles from private dealerships at public expense. The House had covered up to $650 a month; the Senate, $600. As a result, Capitol parking lots for years were loaded with Lincolns and Cadillacs.

Now, however, lawmakers have to drive their own cars and bill the state for mileage or pick a vehicle from the government-owned fleet program. Fleet vehicles are typically base models with few frills.

Legislators pay a portion of the lease cost based on the amount of personal driving they do.

In the House, 82 of the 203 members drive fleet cars; 18 of the 49 sitting senators do.

That's about four out of every 10 legislators, continuing a steep downward trend, according to current and previous surveys by The Inquirer.

In 1993, 196 - or three out of every four legislators - drove vehicles paid for by the public. A decade later, that had dropped to 165. Last term, it was 123.

Still, the numbers aren't going down fast enough for some.

"At this rate, we will have to wait until the year 2020 before the legislature can see things clearly and from the taxpayer's point of view," said Gene Stilp, a longtime Harrisburg activist. "No legislator - none - should have these cars."

In January 2006, Stilp unsuccessfully argued in court that lawmakers should not get free cars. The state constitution, he contended, calls for lawmakers to receive their salaries and mileage reimbursement and nothing else.

Commonwealth Court rejected the argument on a technicality, but the case is on appeal in the state Supreme Court.

To Farnese, his choice of a 2009 Mercury Mariner hybrid - the most expensive model in the fleet at $644 monthly - was the best deal he could have made for the public purse.

Borrowing an argument used by many over the years, Farnese said that when factoring in the many miles lawmakers drive, the fleet program is cheaper than the alternative: billing the state 55 cents for each work-related mile put on a personal car.

But not all legislators who drive their own cars bill for all their miles, however.

"At the end of the day, when you combine everything, I am saving the state money and keeping the environment safe, too," Farnese said.

After two years, Rep. Bryan Lentz came to the same conclusion.

At the start of his first term in January 2007, the Delaware County Democrat told The Inquirer that he refused to take a state car because he vowed not to on the campaign trail.

"It's consistent with the campaign I ran to try and emphasize more of a service-oriented philosophy," Lentz said then, adding that voters "want you to be reasonable and work hard and put their interest first."

But last month, Lentz reversed course and accepted a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid, which costs taxpayers $453 a month. Lentz made the move after comparing the fleet program to what he was billing for mileage.

"It was cheaper in the long run to lease the vehicle," said Janet Tirado, Lentz's spokeswoman.