HARRISBURG -- The state House of Representatives this morning released a list of salaries of its 1,898 employees.

House Speaker Dennis O'Brien ordered the release two weeks ago saying he wanted to "make the House more transparent and open."

Until now, information on the taxpayer-funded salaries were available only upon written request to the House clerk, who would provide information for no more than 15 employees at a time. Requests often took two weeks to fulfill. Under that procedure, it would have taken roughly five years to receive salary information for all employees.

Now, the information is publicly available in a 138-page bound book.

It shows that 33 House employees earn a base salary of $100,000 or more.

Among the highest paid are Edward J. Nolan, executive director of the Republican House Appropriations Committee; Roger Nick, chief clerk of the House; and Michael Manzo, chief of staff to House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese.

Mr. Nolan's salary is $169,446; Mr. Nick's salary is $151,000 and Mr. Manzo's salary is $141,102.

Tracie Mauriello can be reached at tmauriello@post-gazette.com or 717-787-2141.