Can the born-again reformers in Harrisburg be believed? That is the question that comes to mind when reading this week's news reports that House Majority Leader H. William DeWeese champions changes to curb past abuses by lawmakers.

DeWeese said this week that he supports ending so-called "gut and run" practices that change the intent of a bill at the very last minute of the legislative process.

This backroom procedure is typically engineered by legislative leaders and was a key ingredient in most notorious pieces of recent legislation, including the 2005 pay raise and the legalization of slot machine gambling.

The last-minute switching denies the public any chance to comment on legislation — and also prevents most rank-and-file lawmakers from fully understanding what they are voting for, usually at the strenuous urging of party leaders.

The controversial pay-raise vote of July 2005 began life as a one-page bill proposing limits on certain administration salaries within the executive branch. But in the final hours leading up to the 2 a.m. vote, the text of the one-page document was stripped out and replaced by 22 pages of text outlining massive pay increases for members of the legislature as well as the executive andjudicial branches.

Another example of "gut and run" was the bill legalizing slot machine gambling, which began life as a one-page bill having to do with background checks for workers at horse-racing tracks. Again, in the final hours before passage, legislative leaders removed the text of the one-page bill and substituted a massive 145-page bill legalizing slot machine gambling. The public was not given any warning that legalized gambling was being approved, or what the details of the legislation included.

Now, some of the same lawmakers involved in these stealth legislative stuntsare promising tougher rules to prevent such abuses.

A few lesser-known lawmakers with a history of pushing for reform when it was unpopular have credibility on this issue. But others, mostly the entrenched party leaders, have little credibility as reform proponents. So, DeWeese's new role as a born-again reformer, supporting a more open and accountable process, is not easy to accept.

The House Democratic leader recently said he would stop using a taxpayer-funded driver, but that decision came only after newspaper reports exposed the practice. DeWeese also recently said that he would end catered lunches for his caucus that were paid for with taxpayer funds. But that announcement came only after news reports revealed the practice — and noted that most lawmakers at the free lunches also were claiming per-diem payments meant to cover expenses related to meals and lodging.

Now Harrisburg pols are telling us they want to end "gut and run."But voters should understand that the state constitution already prohibits the practice.

Article III, Section 1 states: "No law shall be passed except by bill, and no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House, as to change its original purpose."

The language of the so-called original-purpose provision could not be more clear, or simple to understand. Yet, legislative leaders in the past simply chose to ignore it in pushing through the pay-raise package and slot machine legalization.

How will new laws or tougher rules change things if elected officials choose to also ignore them?

The same can be said for the so-called three-day rule. In Article III, Section 4, the state constitution says "Every bill shall be considered on three different days in each House." Many of Harrisburg's recent big surprises — such as the votes for pay raises and slots legislation — clearly violated this rule.

Again, with such clear rules already spelled out in the state constitution, how much confidence should Pennsylvanians have that new rules will make a difference?

Another example of the state constitution being ignored concerns lawmakers' compensation. Article II, Section 8 states "the members of the General Assembly shall receive salary and mileage for regular and special sessions as shall be fixed by law, and no other compensation whatever."

There is no mention of per-diem payments, no mention of "unvouchered expenses," no mention of golden pensions, no mention of taxpayer-funded car leases, no mention of free health care for life.

This week, the House Speaker's Commission on Legislative Reform agreed to 30 changes to make the legislative process more open. That's encouraging news, but these reform efforts have a long way to go before voters can be confident things are really changing in Harrisburg.

The legislature's recent track record is not one that instills confidence in open, honest and accountable state government.