The first bill of the Pennsylvania legislature’s current two-year session set to become law is a bill, sponsored by Senate Republican John DiSanto, that closes a loophole that saw public officials pleading guilty to lesser job-related offenses in order to keep their pensions.
“Over the past ten years, state retirement boards have identified potentially hundreds of such instances. It’s obvious to me - and all the honest, hard-working citizens of Pennsylvania - that lawbreakers violating the public trust should not receive lifetime pension benefits from taxpayers," DiSanto said.
READ: Energy pipelines take center stage in Pa. Capitol
The bill will strip pensions from state employees convicted of job-related offenses classified as felonies or that carry prison terms of more than five years. In declaring his support for the bill, Gov. Wolf also urged lawmakers to enact more ethics reforms.