Beyond the obvious disparity among lawmakers, records and interviews show that legislators' personal staffs will cost taxpayers more than $100 million in 2010.
"There is no rhyme or reason to the system," said Tim Potts, a former legislative aide and cofounder of the activist group Democracy Rising. "It's all based on personal relationships. And it shows just how out of touch the legislature is with the real world."
Brown, who is in her first term, represents the third-poorest district in the state. "My people are hit the hardest, and we have to fight the hardest for them," she said.
The system encourages abuse, civic watchdogs contend, because it favors seniority and puts inordinate power in the hands of legislative leaders, who determine which members get what.
A grand jury investigating corruption in the state Capitol cited legislative staffing as an example of Harrisburg's living in a "time warp of public corruption."
The grand jury's report, made public in May, found that legislative staffing was bloated and recommended the General Assembly become a part-time body to save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
It also pointed out that some members have multiple offices in their districts, each flush with employees, while others make do with a single office staffed by a few people.
"The leadership doles out virtually all resources to members, who buck the leadership at their own peril," the report concluded. "Members who should be representing the interests of their constituents instead focus on pleasing their party leaders in order to curry favor that can be parlayed into additional resources being directed to them."
