Representative Mark Keller
Chairman, Legislative Audit Advisory Commission
Ryan Office Building, Room 108
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2086
December 21, 2017
Dear Chairman Keller:
The Employee Liability Self-Insurance Program (“the Program”), in which each legislative caucus pays into the fund based on the number of employees, is not adequately discussed in the LAAC’s
Annual Report.
I want to amend my testimony filed on November 14, 2017 to reflect the possible use of Non-Lapsing accounts held by the legislature to settle sexual harassment complaints. Please note that I stated in my Testimony:
2) The Audit should disclose the nature and amount of any findings of irregularities and improprieties.
3) The Audit should also provide descriptions of large, unusual and/or inappropriate sums disbursed by use of the “advance appropriation method.” This disbursement vehicle method does not document to any external authority the justification for these expenditures.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LAAC/2017_Testimony.pdf
As such, I am requesting the following information:
1) Please provide the annual funding levels and/or premiums each caucus has contributed to the Employee Liability Self-Insurance Program from 2006 to the present date.
2) Please break out the number of employees covered per caucus, per year since 2006 by the Program.
3) Please identify the number of claims filed against each caucus per year, amount of each settlement, and identify the number of cases settled per caucus since 2006 involving the Program.
4) Please identify the law firms retained by each caucus – for each year since 2006 – to represent legislative employees, identify their hourly rates, retainers, fees paid per settlement, and the aggregate amount each firm was paid for every year they were under contract to service and settle complaints relating to the Fund dating back to 2006.
Sincerely,
Eric Epstein, Coordinator
Rock the Capital
4100 Hillsdale Road
Harrisburg, PA 17112
717-635-8615