Legislators' pens mean red ink for taxpayers

HARRISBURG - First Bibles, then pens.

When they took the oath of office in January, most Pennsylvania legislators placed their right hands on new Bibles and Torahs that cost taxpayers about $13,700.

Now comes word that members of the state House got something else that day as well - a desktop pen set.

It was a gift presented by new House Speaker Keith R. McCall (D., Carbon). But he didn't pay for it. The public did - nearly $4,000.

In all, 210 of the trinkets were ordered at a cost of $18.95 each. That's one for each of the 203 representatives with a few to spare.

The bases of the pen sets are crafted from a three-inch chunk of coal and feature a small plaque with McCall's name and new title.

Why coal? Pennsylvania anthracite was discovered in McCall's hometown of Summit Hill, Carbon County, more than 200 years ago.

Bob Caton, McCall's spokesman, said the pens were in keeping with a "decades-old tradition for the newly elected speaker to offer a small memento to the membership on swearing-in day."

But he acknowledged that in these tough economic times, top legislators soon may rethink such long-held ways.

"This tradition - like all House operations - will be closely examined to determine if it should be eliminated in the future to save money," Caton said.

Officials offered the same reasoning last week when The Inquirer first reported that the House and Senate had bought 219 Bibles and Torahs - and one Quran - for lawmakers.

Yesterday, Gene Stilp, a longtime Harrisburg activist, asked legislators to return the holy books or write a check to the state to cover their costs.

At noon yesterday, Stilp set up a collection box in the Capitol Rotunda for just that purpose. When checked yesterday evening, it was empty.

"Now I'm going to have to put a coal bucket next to the box," joked Stilp, the founder of Taxpayers and Ratepayers United. "With the economy like it is, taxpayers may soon need that coal to heat their homes."