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 The new bronze plaques beneath the portraits of four former House
speakers were added as a compromise with lawmakers who wanted the
portraits removed altogether after the politicians went to prison,
said Stephen Miskin, a spokesman for Pennsylvania House Speaker Sam
Smith.
"We didn't paint bars across the portraits," quipped Miskin, but the
new tags do "give a fuller depiction of these individuals."
Labels were changed for former House speaker Bill DeWeese, a
Democrat from Greene County, who was released from prison in 2014
after serving time for using public resources for political
purposes.
 The placard was also updated for Herbert Fineman, a Democrat from
Philadelphia convicted of obstructing justice in 1977, as was the
description of John Perzel, a Republican from Philadelphia, released
in 2014 after serving time for corruption.
The plaque identifying former Senate president pro tempore Robert
Mellow, a Democrat from Lackawanna County was also adjusted, to
reflect his 2012 guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and
filing a false tax return.
"Hopefully it sets an example for others, and hopefully it sets
precedent that won’t be needed again," Miskin said of the changes
decided by Smith and Pennsylvania Senate pro tempore Joe Scarnati
after debate amongst lawmakers.
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Some lawmakers wanted the portraits removed entirely, but it was
Smith's thought that the past couldn't be erased, so instead the
plaques were altered to reflect history accurately, Miskin said of
the compromise.
The portrait gallery was created in 1988 and features paintings of
Pennsylvania House speakers, as well as notable representatives,
including Benjamin Franklin.
(Editing by Sharon Bernstein)
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