CF’s work on Accountable Government revolves around the need to provide transparent government to taxpayers and voters and to return Pennsylvania to the citizen legislature envisioned by our founders. To hold their elected officials accountable, citizens need accurate information on how government resources are spent and how decisions are made. As investors would demand adequate information about the performance of a business, so too do taxpayers deserve adequate information about where their dollars are spent. Restoring the General Assembly to part-time, citizen legislature would result in lower taxes, more efficient government, and less corruption.
School District Labor Contracts: Surprising Provisions
More than 1.7 million students rely on Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts to meet their diverse educational needs. School boards from each district agree to collective bargaining agreements (labor contracts) with local teachers’ unions. These labor contracts, renewed every few years through closed-door negotiations, contain various privileges for unions. This summary highlights key contract provisions that tilt the playing field toward government unions at the expense of students, t
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Pa. Brings Transparency to State Union Contracts
Gov. Tom Wolf today signed into law Senate Bill 644, a historic government transparency reform which empowers the Independent Fiscal Office to estimate government union contracts costs before the contracts are finalized.
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Will Wolf 'Walk the Walk' on 'Government That Works'?
Last month, Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled his “Government that Works” plan to reform government contracting and increase transparency. Now, the state Legislature has given Wolf a chance to back up these words with action.
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House Passes Historic Government Union Contract Transparency
Today, the state House passed SB 644 (108-83) to bring much-needed cost transparency to government union contracts—contracts Governor Wolf is negotiating behind closed doors right now.
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Wolf on Transparency: Do As I Say, Not As I do
Today, Governor Wolf will unveil a new effort to limit campaign contributions as a “transparency” measure. Yet, his own political conflict of interest taints his message.
Read More >Wolf to Pension Commission: 'You're Fired!'
The latest casualty of Gov. Tom Wolf’s “my way or the highway” approach to governing is the independent agency tasked with evaluating state pension systems and providing cost and benefit analyses. This week, the Wolf administration confirmed plans to eliminate the Public Employee Retirement Commission (PERC).
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Shhh... State's Fiscal Code Hides Earmark Secrets
On Tuesday, the Pa. House passed a “fiscal code” which implements parts of the new state budget. While the fiscal code includes many important reforms that benefit taxpayers, it has also become a political vehicle to satisfy lobbyists’ appetites for earmarks.
Read More >Poll: Large Majorities Back Transparency & Accountability Reforms
Critical transparency and accountability measures pending in the state Legislature gained overwhelming public support in a poll released today by the Commonwealth Foundation.
Read More >Letter to Gov. Wolf: Side with Voters, Not Government Union Special Interests
Dear Governor Wolf: As you pursue massive tax increases on working Pennsylvanians and rebuke legislators and job creators for “appeas[ing] oil and gas special interests,” I felt it necessary to point out your own appeasement of certain private, political special interests—the government union leaders.
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