HARRISBURG — Twelve state House lawmakers didn’t cash at least one of their paychecks during Pennsylvania’s six-month budget impasse last year, as the legislature struggled to agree on the last pieces of the state’s $45.4 billion spending plan.

The group represents a tiny fraction of the 253-member legislature. However, under a bill floated by one of the check-rejecters, all lawmakers as well as the governor and lieutenant governor would be forced to forgo their pay during future budget impasses.

Not taking pay, lawmakers told Spotlight PA, followed up on campaign promises or showed they understood the pain of groups, such as community colleges or libraries, that struggled to make ends meet amid the impasse.

State Rep. Jamie Flick (R., Lycoming), a first-term lawmaker and business owner, didn’t take a paycheck from July to December. He said that he campaigned for office on a promise to abstain from pay if there was no budget, and “had already promised my constituents I would have my check withheld until the budget, that being 100% of the budget, passed.”