If Pennsylvania’s mid-term election cycle wasn’t already topsy-turvy enough. Gov. Tom Wolf — a Democrat who is himself up for reelection — made it even more interesting on Monday, when he proposed a rash of ethics reforms and good government updates to the state’s rules and regulations.

Under Wolf’s proposal, state legislators and other public officials would be subject to a gift ban, the state would institute new campaign finance rules. lawmakers would be required to submit receipts when they seek reimbursement from the state, and an incomplete or late state budget would result in top officials’ paychecks being withheld.

All in all, the governor’s Monday proposal, which also contains measures meant to discourage “pay to play” arrangements in state government, reads like a “Best of Ethics Reform” wish list.

Not only would the changes update some of Pennsylvania’s most broken systems, they would provide incentive for the executive and legislative branches of Pennsylvania’s government to pass a complete and on-time state budget — something that has been a serious problem throughout Wolf’s first term as governor.

Criticisms that skewer Wolf for the timing of this proposal — how convenient that a governor whose administration has made transparency a state priority would unveil these proposals during the run-up to an election — do hold some water.

But that doesn’t mean Wolf’s proposals are bad ideas. Quite the opposite — they’re serious measures that should receive serious consideration.

Motivation aside, ethics reform is a most welcome initiative in Pennsylvania.

And who knows? Perhaps in a fraught mid-term election year our politicians will be more likely to entertain good government legislation and give voters the state government Pennsylvanians deserve.