Hearing turns into target practice as lawmakers grill Pa. Gaming Commission officials.

Growing concerns about a lack of transparency and accountability from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, despite having more than $500 million in its coffers, have state lawmakers demanding change.

“It’s time we shed some light on an agency that should be looking after sportsmen and women,” Rep. David Maloney, D-Berks County, said during the House Game and Fisheries Committee hearing Monday with officials from the game commission.

Maloney, among others, blamed Director Stephen Smith for the commission’s failure to communicate with lawmakers. Smith, who was named to lead the agency immediately after Bryan Burhans’ abrupt resignation last month, vowed to address that concern.

“There needs to be more transparency and more communication,” Smith told the panel. “So I’m completely committed to it.”

The hearing aimed to assess the commission’s response to issues raised in a 2019 performance audit by the auditor general’s office, but it at times turned into a verbal shooting gallery with lawmakers dismissing complaints concerning Smith’s agency and two office managers who accompanied him. him.

Managing your money: Royalties from oil and gas leases connected to the 1,064 wells located on state game lands generated the majority of the more than $504 million held in the Game Fund. The audit highlighted concerns about the commission’s lax handling of royalty payments from energy companies as well as uncertainty over the accuracy of the royalties it receives, prompting several questions from legislators.

David Gustafson, director of the commission’s Office of Wildlife Habitat Management, spoke of high staff turnover in the division that tracks these payments. He said there were two vacancies and it was expected that one of them would be appointed as auditor and accountant to manage royalty payments. Responding to another question raised during the audit regarding delays in depositing royalty checks, he said they are now deposited weekly, if not more frequently.

The commission also purchased software that it is still learning to fully use to ensure the accuracy of royalty payments and cross-reference that data with information from the Department of Environmental Protection, he said. he declares. She is also looking to hire a consultant to help with this work and has used the geographic information system to track almost all well locations and laterals on game lands. He said it should help the agency determine whether an energy company owes it a royalty check.

After repeatedly hearing commission officials use the agency’s high turnover as an excuse, Rep. Jim Haddock, D-Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, chastised the commission for failing to train employees. “It’s a common deal when you’re talking about people’s money,” Haddock said.

He also criticized the commission for continuing to rely on energy companies sending their royalties in paper checks instead of direct deposit. Gaming commission officials said they use paper checks as backup documentation in case something goes wrong. They said doing it electronically would make things more difficult.

High staff turnover: Rep. David Delloso, D-Delaware County, said with $500 million in his account, how come the agency has a problem recruiting and retaining employees?

Smith said that while the commission is an independent agency, it is required by law to follow Commonwealth procedures regarding employee classification and compensation.

“As much as I would like to have the flexibility to deal with this enormous problem, and you are absolutely right to retain the employees that we have, again, not just law enforcement – although certainly law enforcement “I would like to have a situation where, as our budget grows, we can make adjustments. accordingly. But these are not the parameters we have to work with.

Allocations of employee vehicles: The 2019 audit found the agency had four times as many vehicles in pool, beyond the 36 to 38 vehicles commission managers at the time said were needed. It also raised questions about the lack of oversight over the agency’s permanent allocation of state vehicles to employees, which is what Montgomery County Democratic Rep. Joe Ciresi said he holds dear. throat.

“Why do they have to have a car (that they) take home other than the guards’ car,” he said. “Why does everyone need a car?” People come to Harrisburg in their own vehicles all the time. Why do we distribute cars?

Smith said this is an issue the commission identified as an area where “(we) could strengthen our internal controls to ensure that we allocate vehicles appropriately and in a manner consistent with Commonwealth Standards.

He said he has asked regional and office directors to review individuals in their chain of command who have been assigned to a vehicle and request documentation demonstrating they met the Commonwealth’s operating standards.

Spend reserves: Having more than $504 million in the commission’s books is “a good problem,” Smith said. Lawmakers wanted to know how the agency plans to use it.

Smith said commission staff is developing a plan to invest the money where it could have the most impact on wildlife, its habitat and capital improvements on the playgrounds of the state. At the same time, he said he wants to ensure the agency’s long-term financial stability so it can weather lean years that may require program cuts, staff reductions and staff cuts. positions, while maintaining its licensing fees among the lowest in the world. country.

Develop the sport: The 2019 audit also addressed the issue of the decline in the number of hunting licenses. They increased from 944,528 in 2015 to 915,497 in 2017. Smith said the numbers stopped falling and increased slightly (by 2,000 licenses) in recent years to 852,000.

Committee Chair Anita Astorino Kulik, D-Allegheny, said adding three Sundays for hunting and changing the start of deer season to Saturday did not increase participation. Maloney acknowledged that there is a lack of evidence that these changes have had an effect on hunter numbers.

He also criticized the commission’s management of the deer population, among a number of other actions the commission has taken in recent years, as well as officials’ refusal to answer his questions.

“We’re supposed to serve sports people,” Maloney said. “If you can’t be transparent, then this meeting is worthless.”

Smith said after the meeting that he shared Maloney’s desire to increase transparency and accountability in how the agency intends to spend the resources entrusted to it and looked forward to providing him with the information that he requested to present the work of the commission.

Jan Murphy can be contacted at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X at @JanMurphy.

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