"It's a nice job if you can get it" ought to be the official motto of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Although the gravy train has slowed down since 2005 when public revulsion greeted lawmakers who had given themselves a big pay raise in a late-night vote, the freebies have not dried up.

That is depressingly clear from filings with the state Ethics Commission. As reported by the Post-Gazette's Tracie Mauriello on Sunday, 38 of the state's 253 legislators shared in at least $67,000 worth of goodies last year.

That doesn't include more than $18,000 in food and rental facilities for events hosted by lawmakers for constituents. And it doesn't include tangible gifts of less than $250, the overly generous threshold in the law above which filings on spending must be made.

In many ways, what legislators do receive is the same old, same old -- among the gifts reported were tickets to the Super Bowl, concerts and ball games, travel expenses, even yacht club memberships. The conflict of interest and the associated whiff of impropriety that comes with such freebies is reason enough to stop the gravy train dead in its tracks. For example, Verizon Wireless is not a charity, and taxpayers can fairly wonder what it got for the $9,786 worth of gifts, travel and hospitality spent on state officials and their families last year.

Dismayingly, local lawmakers are well represented on the freeloaders' list, including Rep. Paul Costa, D-Wilkins, who got $2,271 in gifts from Consol Energy and Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, who received $2,471 worth of food, travel, hospitality and lodging from Consol Coal. And Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon, received unusually generous freebies last year -- $16,588 for trips, one of which took him to Rwanda. His were not luxury trips, but it is hard to see how his fact-finding in Rwanda did anything for the taxpayers back in his district except take him away from his duties.

The only good news is that the gift giving has receded since 2005, when lawmakers reported receiving $93,349 in gifts, travel and hospitality. But the wonder is that hands are still out in an institution that knows little shame.

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