With the controversial decision by state Attorney General Kathleen Kane to not prosecute four state lawmakers caught taking cash from a lobbyist-informant, the time is right for ethics reform in Harrisburg.

Reports of four House Democrats from the Philadephia area recorded taking cash has led to bills in the Legislature barring cash gifts. Some lawmakers and good-government groups want a total ban on gifts to lawmakers.

This week, another overdue ethics issue surfaced in Harrisburg: reform of the per diem system, which pays state lawmakers $159 a day while in Harrisburg to cover the cost of food and lodging. A major flaw in the per diem system is that lawmakers are not required to turn in receipts. They just submit a request and get the $159, no questions asked, no receipts examined.

A Pittsburgh newspaper found that state lawmakers collected $3.9 million in the per diem reimbursements during the 2011-12 legislative session. An added note of interest is that per-diems are not taxable, according to the Internal Reveue Service.

For years, there have been reports of lawmakers frequently enjoying meals catered or paid for by lobbyists, yet still receiving their full $159 per diem.

Another news story explored a different angle of per diem abuse in which a state lawmaker bought a house in Harrisburg and used his per diem income to pay the mortgage. Former state Rep. James Wansacz, D-Lackawanna, reportedly bought a Harrisburg house during his tenure in the Legislature from 2000 to 2010. During that time, he collected $162,904 in per diem expenses, which apparently included mortgage payments. Lawmakers living close to Harrisburg, within a 50 mile radius, do not receive per diems because it’s assumed they commute. But second homes are not covered, so Wansacz was able to stay at his house and use his per diems to pay the mortgage. News reports from earlier this year raised eyebrows when it was discovered that Wansacz has put the home up for sale, at a price of $124,900, which would produce a $52,900 profit if he gets his asking price.

A long overdue step toward curbing per diem abuses could be taken if support builds for a bill in the state Senate that would require lawmakers to provide receipts to be reimbursed for expenses. Nobody can claim that change would put an undue burden on lawmakers because nearly every person traveling for business is required to collect and turn in receipts before being reimbursed by their employer.

It’s such a simple and commonsense practice, yet lawmakers have resisted making the change. They prefer automatic reimbursements, with no receipts. It’s easy to see why.

Coindicentally, the New York Times published a story this week describing how some state lawmakers there often stay in low-cost hotels to maximize their profits on per diems. The story describes a hotel near Albany that’s popular with state lawmakers because it offers rooms for $64.95 — a rate promoted as the “lawmakers’ special.” With that rate, New York lawmakers can pocket, tax-free, a good portion of their $172 per diem, which as with Pennsylvania’s, does not require receipts.

The ethics spotlight is now on Harrisburg to do something. Not since the Bonusgate scandal has there been such an ethical cloud over the General Assembly.

Based on the Philadephia sting operation, a total gift ban, with a sensible limit for meals, should become law.

And just as important, and as reasonable, lawmakers should finally be required to produce receipts for all housing, meal and travel expenses. The change might not save the state money, but it would be less vulnerable to being gamed by lawmakers.

Both changes seem simple, and obvious. But in Harrisburg, and apparently, Albany, it’s difficult to pass reasonable reforms. The only explanation can be that enough lawmakers game the system for their own financial gain that it’s hard to get enough political support to get reasonable reforms passed.

In the coming weeks and months, it will be important to watch Harrisburg to see what lawmakers do — or don’t do.