It was welcome news to a number of Butler County entities that they will benefit from a multimillion-dollar, multistate settlement related to alleged bid rigging by financial institutions.

But it’s bad news that they were victimized.

And, it’s bad news that the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s lack of due diligence is at the heart of this despicable episode.

Lacking understanding of implications and no doubt relying on the “expert” advice of financial institutions guided only by their own best interests and healthier profits, state lawmakers opened the door for what some might call “Derivatives-gate.”

Meanwhile, lawmakers’ lack of understanding filtered down to Butler County entities such as the Butler, South Butler and Mars school districts, Butler County Community College, as well as to Butler County government itself — all of whom didn’t understand the risks and possible pitfalls.

The culprits identified so far in terms of the scandal’s local impact are JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America — ironically, two of the financial institutions that were rescued by the Obama administration’s financial bailout and, thus, by taxpayers.

So far, the amount coming back to this county is in excess of $400,000, but three settlements are pending.

State Attorney General Linda Kelly has said that the settlement money is to compensate victims for their losses, returning funds that they should have received when they initially made their investments, tied to such actions as construction projects.

“This scheme took advantage of state agencies, local governments, public school districts and nonprofit organizations that were attempting to invest or protect the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds,” she said. “According to the continuing national investigation, a number of banks, brokers and financial service firms manipulated the bidding process and shared information, causing victims to pay higher fees and receive lower interest rates.”

For the Pennsylvania General Assembly, news of the settlement coupled with new details of what actually occurred adds to the already greatly tarnished image of its performance.

Back in 2001, state lawmakers were shortsighted and irresponsible in approving a big pension grab for not only themselves but for other public employees, including public school teachers.

In 2005, lawmakers rammed through a big, middle-of-the-night pay raise that eventually was rescinded after a groundswell of public outrage.

Most-recent years have been deluged with news about the Bonusgate scandal, and partisanship that has stymied progress on numerous issues.

Now state taxpayers learn that lawmakers succumbed to the pitches of banking industry lobbyists — and presumably campaign contributions — to the detriment of those whose best interests they were elected to serve and protect.

The settlements ought to in fact be significantly larger to better reflect the sleaziness behind the banks’ scheme.