Former top Pa. lawmaker's lobbying firm paid $41K by Game Commission in unusual arrangement

[FakeNoose]

Spotlight PA link: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2024/02/pennsylvania-lobbyist-game-commission-joe-scarnati-allegheny-strategy-partners/

HARRISBURG — The state agency that promotes hunting in Pennsylvania has hired a lobbying firm run by a former top lawmaker using tens of thousands of dollars in public funds, an unusual arrangement that at least one legislator has tried to ban.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission entered into a $10,000-per-month contract last fall with Allegheny Strategy Partners, according to records obtained by Spotlight PA through a public records request. Joe Scarnati, a Jefferson County Republican who held the top leadership post in the state Senate for more than a decade, is one of three partners in the firm.

Though a handful of cities and regional authorities that rely on state aid deploy lobbyists to Harrisburg, state-level government agencies rarely employ these firms to gain influence with people who are essentially colleagues. And when they do, it sparks controversy. Good-government advocates and some Pennsylvania lawmakers have questioned whether taxpayers benefit when their money is used in this way, and other states have banned or restricted the practice.

Under the agreement with the Game Commission, Allegheny Partners is providing “government relations services,” although the contract provided to Spotlight PA does not specify which entity or person the agency wants the firm to target or on what issue. Neither do the four invoices, totaling $41,229.25, that Allegheny Strategy Partners submitted to the Game Commission from Oct. 1, 2023, through the start of this year.

- more at link -

When was it ever necessary to promote deer hunting in Pennsylvania?

Just sayin'

[twodogsbarking]

1. Game commission is king in Pa. It is a risk to even say it.