Eugene DePasquale

Here's a news release from Euegene DePasquale, recently re-elected state representative from the 95th district.

As you may recall, Euegene was elected in 2006 as part of an influx of reform candidates, at a time when a lot of Pennsylvanians were still pretty sore over the previous year's legislative pay raise (since rescinded).

Looks like Eugene's still cognizant of that as well. Anyway, here's the news release:

State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, today released his final expenses for his freshman term of office, 2007-08.

DePasquale said he will return a total of $22,185.44 to the state treasury for expenses not incurred during his first legislative term. Further, following suit of the House Democratic leaders and in light of current economic woes, DePasquale also said he will return the state-mandated cost-of-living allowance for 2009.

"When I took my oath two years ago, I made a promise not to squander or over-collect taxpayer-funded expenses," DePasquale said. "I'm pleased to be sending money back to the treasury, because we kept expenses low, and I have made efforts to even further reduce operating costs in my next term."

DePasquale said changes he's made for the 2009-10 term include the purchase of office equipment to replace rentals, a cost of nearly $180 a month. A one-time purchase of office furniture (approximately $300) will replace a two-year rental expense totaling $4,145.76. In an effort to reduce potentially wasteful postage, DePasquale said he also purchased a scale to weigh mail in the office.

Yesterday, House Democratic leaders called for all members to forego the cost-of-living increase, and DePasquale said House Democrats support cuts to the General Assembly appropriations and are trimming costs in other ways, such as banning out-of-state travel and reviewing hiring policies.

DePasquale was the first local legislator to publicly post his quarterly expenses online. They are viewable at his Web site, www.pahouse.com/DePasquale.