Relying on unanimous rulings by the PA Supreme Court, various governors and the General Assembly have practiced what DR and other integrity advocates call "gut-and-run" legislation. This consists of taking a bill that was introduced and considered for many days, removing all of the original language, then substituting entirely new language and enacting it in a matter of hours.

Below you can download one-page histories of three "gut-and-run" laws.

• 2004 - Enacted over the 4th of July weekend in 2004, this law authorizes slots gambling in PA.
• 2005 - The Pay Raise, enacted right after the 4th of July weekend, raised salaries for lawmakers, judges and executive branch officials by 19% to 54%.
• 2006 - Enacted on the last day of lame-duck session in 2006, this law authorizes slots parlors to provide unlimited free alcohol to slots players.

DR and others believe that this procedure violates at least two explicit provisions of our Constitution:

• The "original purpose rule" says, "...no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House, as to change its original purpose." All of the gut-and-run laws below had every word of the original language removed before passage.
• The "three-day rule" says, "Every bill shall be considered on three different days in each House." All gut-and-run laws below were amended with language that actually got less than three days of consideration in both the House and Senate combined instead of at least three days in each chamber.

Click here to read these and other provisions of our Constitution that give the requirements for how the General Assembly is to pass the laws that citizens have to live with and pay for.