PRINTER'S NO. 412
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.47
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SOLOMON, KENYATTA, HILL-EVANS, VENKAT, HANBIDGE,
MADSEN, HADDOCK, FREEMAN AND GREEN, JANUARY 31, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, JANUARY 31, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Amending House Rule 14, further providing for members' and
employees' expenses.
RESOLVED, That House Rule 14 be amended to read:
RULE 14
Members' and Employees' Expenses
A member who attends a duly called meeting of a standing or
special committee of which he or she is a member when the House
is not in session or who is summoned to the State Capitol or
elsewhere by the Speaker, or the Majority or Minority Leader of
the House, to perform legislative services when the House is not
in session shall be reimbursed per day for each day of service,
plus mileage to and from the member's residence, at such rates
as are established from time to time by the Committee on Rules
but not in excess of the applicable maximum mileage rate
authorized by the Federal Government. For travel to any location
for committee meetings or for travel to the State Capitol for
any reason, members cannot receive reimbursement in excess of
the applicable maximum per diem rate authorized by the Federal
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18 Government. These expenses shall be paid by the Chief Clerk from
appropriation accounts under the Chief Clerk's exclusive control
and jurisdiction, upon a written request approved by the Speaker
of the House, or the Majority or the Minority Leader of the
House.
An employee of the House summoned by the Speaker or the
Majority or Minority Leader of the House to perform legislative
services outside of Harrisburg shall be reimbursed for actual
expenses and mileage to and from the employee's residence. Such
expenses may be paid by the Speaker, Majority or Minority
Leader, if they agree to do so, or shall be paid by the Chief
Clerk from appropriation accounts under the Chief Clerk's
exclusive control and jurisdiction, upon a written request
approved by the Speaker, or the Majority or the Minority Leader.
District office employees are only permitted to be reimbursed
from an account under the control of the Chief Clerk when
traveling to Harrisburg for a training program sponsored by
either caucus or for travel to a legislative conference approved
by the Speaker, the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader. All
other travel by district office employees may be reimbursed from
the member's accountable expenses or an account under the
control of the Speaker, the Majority Leader or the Minority
Leader.
Members and employees traveling outside the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania who receive any reimbursement for expenses or
travel which reimbursement is from public funds shall file with
the Chief Clerk a statement containing their name and the name,
place, date and the purpose of the function.
Money appropriated specifically to and allocated under a
specific symbol number for allowable expenses of members of the
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30 House of Representatives shall be reimbursed to each member upon
submission of vouchers and any required documentation by each
member on forms prepared by the Chief Clerk of the House. No
reimbursement shall be made from this account where a member is
directly reimbursed for the same purpose from any other
appropriation account. The amount of money appropriated to
members shall be published on a publicly accessible Internet
website managed and maintained by the Office of the Chief Clerk.
Such allowable expenses of members may be used for any
legislative purpose or function, including but not limited to
the following:
(1) Travel expense on legislative business.
(a) Mileage on session or nonsession days at a rate as
may be approved from time to time by the Committee on Rules,
but not in excess of the maximum mileage rate authorized by
the Federal Government for travel; voucher with documented
travel details.
(a.1) Actual expenses incurred for travel on session or
nonsession days by public transportation; voucher with
documented travel details and receipt.
(b) Miscellaneous transportation on legislative business
(taxi, airport limousine, parking, tolls), and expenses of a
similar nature; voucher and receipt with a statement of the
legislative reason for the expense; voucher only for any
single expense not in excess of $10.
(c) Travel on legislative business by common carrier
other than taxi and airport limousine; voucher and receipt
from common carrier.
(d) Car rental; voucher and receipt from rental agency
but reimbursement not to exceed in any month an amount as may
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30 be approved from time to time by the Committee on Rules. Any
amount in excess of the said amount shall be paid by the
person renting the car. In no event shall other than American
manufactured cars be rented.
(e) Lodging, restaurant charges and other miscellaneous
and incidental expenses while away from home. Vouchers only
for per diem allowance approved from time to time by the
Committee on Rules, but not in excess of the applicable
maximum per diem rate authorized by the Federal Government or
for actual expenses not in excess of such per diem rate.
(2) Administrative, clerical and professional services for
legislative business, except for employment of spouses or any
relatives, by blood or marriage.
(a) Administrative and clerical services; voucher and
receipt and copy of agreement or contract.
(b) Professional services; voucher and receipt and copy
of agreement or contract.
(3) Rent for legislative office space; purchase of office
supplies; postage; telephone landline and answering services;
cellular phone legislative air time only; printing services and
rental only of office equipment; voucher and vendor's receipt,
except for postage expense.
(4) Restaurant and beverage charges for business meetings;
voucher and itemized vendor receipt, together with a statement
of the legislative reason for the expense, shall be submitted
with the request for reimbursement.
(5) Purchase of flags, plaques, publications, photographic
services, books, and other similar items in connection with
legislative activities; voucher and vendor's receipt.
(6) Communications and donations in extending
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30 congratulations or sympathy of illness or death; voucher only
for any single expense not in excess of $75.
No money appropriated for members' and employees' expenses
shall be used for contributions to political parties or their
affiliated organizations.
No money appropriated for members' and employees' expenses
shall be used for contributions to charitable organizations or
for charitable advertisements. This paragraph shall not prevent
a de minimis use of legislative resources, in connection with
legislative activities, to benefit a bona fide charitable
organization that serves a member's district.
Members and employees shall not request reimbursement for the
private lease of vehicles leased on a long-term basis. The Chief
Clerk is no longer authorized to enter into a master lease
agreement with the Department of General Services for the long-
term lease of additional automobiles for the use of members.
Members may not use Commonwealth funds to purchase an automobile
for official purposes. The Chief Clerk may not assign
automobiles leased or owned by the Commonwealth to members, but
may maintain automobiles previously assigned to members. A
member with a previously assigned automobile shall not be
required to surrender the automobile unless the Chief Clerk
determines that it is no longer practical or cost effective for
the automobile to remain in service to a member due to age or
high mileage of the automobile or needed repairs or damage to
the automobile. A member who is required to surrender an
automobile by the Chief Clerk may not receive a replacement
automobile.
All disbursements made, debts incurred or advancements paid
from any appropriation account made to the House or to a member
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30 or nonmember officer under a General Appropriation Act or any
other appropriation act shall be recorded in a monthly report
and filed with the Chief Clerk by the person authorized to make
such disbursement, incur any debt or receive any advancement on
a form prescribed by the Chief Clerk.
The Chief Clerk shall prescribe the form of all such reports
and make such forms available to those persons required to file
such reports. Such report form shall include:
(1) As to personnel:
(a) The name, home address, job title, brief description
of duties and where they are performed, department or member
or members to whom assigned, the name of immediate supervisor
and minimum hours of employment per week of each employee.
(b) The appropriation account from which such employee
is compensated, the amount of compensation and whether such
person is on salary, per diem or contract.
(2) As to all other expenditures:
(a) To whom it was paid, the amount thereof, and the
nature of the goods, services or other purpose for which the
expenditure was made.
(b) The appropriation account from which the expenditure
was made and the name or names of the person or persons
requesting and/or authorizing the same.
The reporting requirements as to personnel may be fulfilled
by the maintenance in the Office of the Chief Clerk of the House
of an alphabetized, electronic file containing the current
information for each employee as set forth above.
All monthly reports filed on disbursements made or debts
incurred by any officer or member or employee from
appropriations made to the House or to a member or nonmember
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30 officer under any General Appropriation Act, and the
documentation for each disbursement, shall be public information
and shall be available in accordance with the act of February
14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.
All vouchers and requisitions relating to all expenditures,
expenses, disbursements and other obligations out of all
appropriated funds of the House, and the documentation
evidencing payment of the vouchers and requisitions, shall be
available in accordance with the Right-to-Know Law.
All requests for reimbursement out of any appropriation shall
be accompanied by a voucher, or other documents where required,
evidencing payment or approval. All requests for reimbursement
out of any appropriation payable to a member, nonmember officer
or employee shall be void if not submitted within 90 days of the
date that the otherwise allowable expense is incurred for any
and all otherwise allowable expenses, including without
limitation, per diem, mileage and actual expenses incurred. Any
such void request for reimbursement may not be paid except
pursuant to a motion to suspend this rule for good cause
specific to the voided request for reimbursement. The voucher
form shall be approved and supplied by the Chief Clerk. Receipts
or documentation of every expenditure or disbursement which is
in excess of the maximum amount as set forth herein shall be
attached to the voucher. Where a request for payment is made in
advance of an expense actually incurred, the Chief Clerk, before
making such advance payment shall require a description
satisfactory to the Chief Clerk of the item or service to be
purchased or the expense to be incurred, and a receipt or other
documentation shall be given to the Chief Clerk after the item
or service has been purchased or expense incurred as evidence
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30 that such advancement was in fact expended for such purpose.
All reports, vouchers and receipts from which reports are
prepared and filed shall be retained by the Chief Clerk, officer
or member, as the case may be, for such period of time as may be
necessary to enable the Legislative Audit Advisory Commission
created pursuant to the act of June 30, 1970 (P.L.442, No.151),
entitled "An act implementing the provisions of Article VIII,
section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, by designating
the Commonwealth officers who shall be charged with the function
of auditing the financial transactions after the occurrence
thereof of the Legislative and Judicial branches of the
government of the Commonwealth, establishing a Legislative Audit
Advisory Commission, and imposing certain powers and duties on
such commission," to conduct, through certified public
accountants appointed by it, annual audits to assure that such
disbursements made or debts incurred were in accordance with
Legislative Audit Advisory Commission guidelines and standards
as approved by the Committee on Rules, or for a minimum of three
years, whichever is longer. All annual audit reports shall be
available for public inspection. Photocopies of such reports
shall be available for a fee established by the Chief Clerk not
to exceed the cost of duplication.
Except as specifically prohibited by law or limited by this
rule, all expenditures of funds appropriated to the House or to
a member or nonmember officer shall be subject to the
expenditure guidelines established by the Rules Committee. The
Rules Committee shall establish standards regarding
documentation evidencing payment out of any appropriations
account made to the House or to a member or nonmember officer.
The Bipartisan Management Committee shall receive and review
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30 suggestions from the Comptroller on ways to reduce costs and
improve the fiscal operations of the House. The Comptroller,
following authorization by the Bipartisan Management Committee,
shall implement cost-reducing and other new measures to improve
the fiscal operations of the House.
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