Leases on district offices exceeded $6M in 2013
ALLENTOWN – The hundreds of district offices that Pennsylvania lawmakers lease back home are costing taxpayers more than $6 million a year, according to a published report.
Lawmakers are given wide latitude in choosing their district offices and the leased property is often owned by political donors and friends, The Morning Call reported in a Saturday story that analyzed those expenses in 2013, the most recent year for which complete records are available.
The Senate does not limit how much members may spend on leases as long as the offices are not too big and the cost is in line with local rental rates. House members’ office expenses are capped at $27,600 a year but those who exceed that can tap a special $20,000 allowance that covers items such as constituent communications and plaques, the newspaper reported.
While not all legislators received campaign contributions from their landlords, those who do include the senator with the largest district office lease payment in the state.
Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-Chester, pays $6,865 a month for his district office in West Chester to Zukin Real Estate, which donated more than $7,000 to his campaign in 2012, according to the newspaper, which gathered information through Right-to-Know requests and a review of state contracts.
Dinniman’s office did not immediately return a call Monday seeking comment from the Associated Press.
Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, who leases district offices in Allentown and Brodheadsville from different campaign donors, contends that campaign contributions do not play a role in where to set up an office.
“It should be based on what is most suitable to provide retail government services to your constituents, plain and simple,” Browne said.
While lawmakers are barred from renting office space from their relatives, they may lease from their colleagues’ family members. Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-Delaware, was within the rules in 2012 when he entered into a $1,650 monthly lease in a building owned by Micozzie Realtors. The firm is owned by Kelly A. Micozzie-Aguirre, a district judge and daughter of former Rep. Nick Micozzie, who retired from the Legislature last year.
Overall, the 253 members of the Legislature spent at least $13.8 million on various expenses in addition to their base salary of $84,012, the second-highest among the states after California, the newspaper reported.