Pennsylvania House Leaders Impose Ban On Most Cash Gifts
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Leaders of both parties in the Pennsylvania House have banned most types of cash gifts in response to recent allegations that some state representatives accepted cash from a confidential informant in a criminal investigation.
The House Bipartisan Management Committee on Wednesday adopted a new ethics rule prohibiting cash gifts, although money from non-lobbyist family members and friends is allowed.
The one-page document was approved by the House speaker and the floor leaders and whips of both parties.
A spokesman for House Speaker Sam Smith says the move is in response to reports in The Philadelphia Inquirer that four members accepted payments from a lobbyist wearing a wire for state prosecutors.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane has said the investigation was too badly flawed to pursue when she inherited it.
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