With the steady stream of scandals coming out of Harrisburg, it would be easy for people to become numb. If there is such a thing as outrage fatigue, lawmakers and a few other officials, such as the departing head of the state's student loan agency, are testing the public's limits.

Assuming that abuse of power, spending taxpayers' money for personal or political gain, and ranking self-interest above constituent interests is standard operating procedure for some members of the General Assembly, change might seem impossible. But such resignation would be a mistake.

Maintaining outrage over abuses by state lawmakers and others working in the public sector can be exhausting when there are so many issues to be angry about. The 2 a.m. pay-raise vote in 2005 generated the most attention, but there also has been outrage over unvouchered expenses, the 50 percent pension grab of 2001 and, more recently, secretive legislative bonuses. The well-documented spending abuses at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and the $370,000 annual pension for the now-former head of PHEAA causes some voters to shake their heads, and wonder what can be done to change the Harrisburg culture.

One thing is clear: Voters need to remain informed, involved — and outraged. Given the culture of entitlement and self-serving actions of some people in Harrisburg, it will be difficult to bring about real change. But it is possible.

In the last legislative election, a record number of retirements and incumbent defeats brought about 50 new lawmakers with reform agendas into the General Assembly. More of the same will be required next year to give the reform movement critical mass.

More outrage can help fuel more reform-adverse incumbents being removed from office.

The latest insight into alleged abuses comes from former state Rep. Frank LaGrotta, a Lawrence County Democrat who served 10 terms before losing in the primary in last year's elections.

LaGrotta reportedly is providing information about political work done by legislative staffers at the direction of Democratic leaders. A widening probe focused on LaGrotta is expected to result in ethics charges against the former lawmaker for hiring his sister and niece and paying them inflated wages for doing little or no work.

While talking with investigators about his hiring of relatives, LaGrotta has expanded his conversation to include the inner workings of the Democratic caucus, notably the alleged practice of using taxpayer dollars to pay staffers for political, re-election work.

LaGrotta has been granted immunity from prosecution for anything he says about the $1.9 million bonus scandal involving legislative staffers and the re-election work done for various Democrats.

According to a Pittsburgh newspaper, LaGrotta has told investigators that it was common knowledge that political work was done by staffers from the Democratic Office of Legislative Research. In August, agents with the state attorney general's office raided that office and removed boxes of material.

LaGrotta also told investigators that when he was chairman of the House Committee on Tourism and Recreational Development, he learned that the committee's employees were accountable to party leaders, not the committee chair. LaGrotta reported that he received a letter from House Majority Leader H. William DeWeese, telling him that several committee staffers were first-and-foremost obligated to do work for the Democratic caucus. LaGrotta also reportedly told investigators that at least one staffer in the offices of both DeWeese and former Rep. Mike Veon worked primarily on political work, doing little or no legislative work.

If the attorney general's investigation expands to other offices and committees in the General Assembly, it will be interesting to see where else this practice has been followed. It would not be surprising to learn that some Republicans had political work done by staffers, but House Democrats in 2006 appear to be the most blatant offenders.

This sort of activity has long been suspected, but the $1.6 million paid in year-end bonuses to House Democratic staffers for work in the 2006 election year raised eyebrows because the amount was four times higher than staffer bonuses paid the previous year, a non-election year.

The ongoing investigation, with LaGrotta's insider revelations, and the stories told by legislative staffers already called to testify before the grand jury, should trigger more outrage. But the outrage can lead to change if more incumbents, particularly those guilty of malfeasance and actions not focused on voters' interests, are rejected by voters in the 2008 elections.

Outrage can be tiring, but voters cannot allow legislative and other abuses in Harrisburg to remain the status quo.