More than seven years after state lawmakers angered voters and taxpayers with their notorious 2 a.m. pay-raise vote in Harrisburg, efforts to reform how the state Legislature operates have had minimal impact. And a side issue in the 2005 scandal, per-diem payments to lawmakers, is still making news.

State Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Phila., has been featured in news reports for racking up per diems since 1990. In 2011, Cohen was paid $39,000 in per diems — and that’s in addition to his $82,000 salary and very generous perks, including nearly free health care and a pension program that exceeds most in the private sector. His two-year per-diem total for the latest legislative session was $54,205.

On this side of the state, Rep. Dom Costa, D-Pgh., was paid $55,495 in per diems for the two-year legislative session. Costa defended the per diems, saying they are not perks, but simply part of the job. He pointed out that he often goes to Harrisburg Sunday nights to prepare for the week and also he has attended many meetings in Philadelphia.

The intent of per diems is appropriate, to reimburse lawmakers for expenses incurred, usually lodging and food, while in Harrisburg on official business. But what is inappropriate about per diems for state lawmakers is that no receipts for actual expenses are required. It’s wrong and was one of many complaints about the Legislature during the 2005 pay-raise scandal.

It’s common practice in private business to require receipts to document actual expenses for reimbursement. But Harrisburg lawmakers don’t have to turn in receipts; they just have to show up for some official event and they can collect $158 for the day — that’s not $158 in pay for the day, that’s $158 extra, on top of their $82,000 salary. And the per diems are generally tax-free to lawmakers.

Cohen is reportedly well known for showing up briefly at a meeting where he signs in, to record his attendance, then quickly leaves. Since he showed up, however briefly, and signed in, he gets his per diem. No receipts are required to document the cost of his hotel room or meals.

For lawmakers willing to find inexpensive hotel rooms or rent a cheap apartment, the per diems can become quite profitable, since they exceed their actual expenses.

A Pittsburgh newspaper reported that state lawmakers cost taxpayers $3.9 million in per- diem expenses in the 2011-12 legislative year.

Along with the salary, health benefits and pensions, per diems paid to state lawmakers make Pennsylvania’s General Assembly the most expensive state Legislature in the country.

According to Democracy RisingPA, a good-government group, despite some changes in the state’s open records law, the House and Senate make it difficult to find out how much lawmakers are making with per diems. That should change.

A simple, and long overdue, reform measure would require turning in receipts for lodging and meals. State lawmakers should explain why they continue to oppose that idea.