There's a move afoot in the Pennsylvania Legislature to abolish the current system of per diem payments for lawmakers' travel expenses and require them instead to submit receipts for reimbursement.

It's about time.

Pennsylvania lawmakers collected $1.2 million in the reimbursements over the first six months of 2013 without submitting any receipts, according to the Pennsylvania Independent.

The Independent, a Harrisburg-based, nonprofit public interest journalism project dedicated to promoting open, transparent, and accountable state government, reported 32 of the 302 state representatives collected $10,000 or more between Jan. 1 and June 30, all without submitting any proof of the expenses they incurred.

To qualify for a per diem, a lawmaker must incur an overnight expense, but it doesn't have to be on a session day. It can be claimed for committee meetings in Harrisburg or for legislative business anywhere involving travel.

There's nothing illegal or even inherently wrong about the reimbursements, according to those who defend the per diem system. Lawmakers are entitled to reimbursement for expenses related to the travel their jobs require.

That's especially true for Butler County and other regions distant from Harrisburg. The federal Internal Revenue Service sets standard per diem rates based on distance to and from work and other factors. Lawmakers can collect between $50 and $163 per day under the IRS formula.

The premise is that it's cheaper to accept the IRS standard than it is to hire the accountants it would take to process all the receipts.

The premise may be true, but the payments without receipts present an opportunity — and temptation — for abuse, or even the appearance of abuse. Expense claims of $20,000 a year or more begin to resemble a second income — and a tax-free second income at that — for lawmakers who already receive an $80,0000 salary.

Why continue to cast even the appearance of potential impropriety when it's not necessary to do so?

Pennsylvania taxpayers should demand a higher standard from our state lawmakers, and the lawmakers should demand it of themselves. They shouldn't have any qualms about submitting receipts to justify their cash claims for conducting state business. And they shouldn't hesitate to make the higher standard a requirement of state law.