At the Capitol In the News

Philadelphia-based PennEnvironment, an environmental advocacy group, scored state representatives and senators based on votes cast on several bills that affect the state's air, water and open spaces.

If the scorecard were a high school report card, all but one of York County's 12 state legislators would need intensive tutoring, according to the group.

Scores varied widely, from 0 to 86 percent out of 100 percent.

The county delegation's only Democrat, State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York City, was the high scorer. Scoring the lowest possible, 0, were Rep. Scott Perry, R-Dillsburg, and Dauphin County Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, who represents part of York County.

Falling in between, with scores from 11 to 43 percent, were the rest of the county's members.

Different grades: DePasquale scored high for voting in favor of bills such as HB1590, which increased public transportation funding, and voting to allocate funds for wind energy. He was also the lead sponsor of a clean energy bill on which legislators were scored for their vote.

DePasquale said he campaigned on principles such as preserving open spaces and farmland, cleaning up the environment and promoting alternative energy; the scorecard reflects promises kept.

"We can do this all in a way that helps our economy," he said. "It's also the right thing to do."

While DePasquale was concerned about future generations' inheriting pollution, a colleague of his is worried about the debt they will inherit.

Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Springettsbury Township, said the budget is growing, and the state has its "grandchildren's children mortgaged and debited" because of measures it can't pay for.

PennEnvironment gave Gillespie a score of 11 percent because he voted against measures such as establishing energy efficiency programs to cut energy use in the state and increasing spending for public transportation.

"I can't argue with the components and the merits of a lot of the (legislation)," Gillespie said. "What was driving me was the cost and the borrowing associated with it."

Ron Miller, R-Jacobus, also scored an 11 percent. He said the bills used to rate legislators were more complex than just being environmentally friendly. For example, the transportation bill also authorized the lease of the turnpike and "provided for massive borrowing that taxpayers ultimately are on the hook for."

Pros and cons: The environmental group counted results for nine House votes and seven Senate votes. Only two state senators and 13 state representatives received a score of 100 percent.

"We try to educate lawmakers as much as possible about the environmental pros and cons of what is voted on in Harrisburg, and we hope that they will vote for the environment as much as possible," said Nathan Wilcox, energy and clean air advocate for PennEnvironment.

There are a variety of factors at play -- such as cost-- when legislators vote against measures that would be good for the environment, he said. There is also pressure from people who work for a utility or fossil fuel companies, he said.

So what does it mean that so many York County legislators scored low?

"I think it's clear they're not prioritizing the environment," he said.

Democrats fared better than Republicans on the scorecard, which Wilcox said is the result of legislators' just following the direction of their leadership.

Some legislators apparently didn't consider the environment at all, he said.

"You have to vote the wrong way a lot to get the 0 percent," Wilcox said. "They did not vote with the environmental community a single time out of the votes we looked at."

Perry, who scored zero, said he doesn't consider PennEnvironment's ratings to be "anywhere close to some kind of objective indicator of environmental consciousness."

"It doesn't mean I'm not environmentally conscious, it just means I'm not according to their paradigm," he said.

He has authored and supported environmental legislation that included measures such as reducing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, he said. But he didn't get any credit for that.

PennEnvironment doesn't consider the cost of the legislation they support, he said.

"I think they would be willing to bankrupt ... the state's taxpayers to achieve their goals," he said. "I'm sure I can rate them on spending, probably a zero."