Harrisburg, Pa. - As the majority party, Democrats have run of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives - including the majority caucus room: a beautifully appointed, ornate room with about 120 beautiful leather-backed chairs, more than enough for the 104 Democratic lawmakers.

But Democrats decided the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill would be a better place to conduct its business and held what they called a retreat there on Wednesday. Taxpayers paid part of the tab.

"The cost of the event was $953. That included breakfast and microphone and speakers," said Brett Marcy, a spokesman for the House Democratic caucus.

For the first half of the day, Democrats discussed policy. The second half of the retreat was devoted to politics. Lunch was funded by the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee.

"We've always historically done it off-campus because we're not distracted, focused on the issues important to the people of the Commonwealth," said Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia.

"I think sometimes it helps to step outside the building and get a breath of fresh air, so everyone can speak more freely and feel a bit more comfortable," Marcy added.

Of course, critics are speaking freely.

"It's an awful perception. We have a caucus room here, we're trying to cut spending. What you need to do is hunker down and find ways to make government more efficient and more thrifty. You don't need to take a field trip to the West Shore to mingle and make yourself eligible for per diems," political activist Eric Epstein said.

To be fair, lawmakers would be per diem eligible in Camp Hill or the Capitol and we don't know which lawmakers will request them, but there is also a fair question to those trying to collect the $150.

"The taxpayers paid for breakfast, the Democrats paid for lunch. So what are the per diems paying for? What am I missing here?" Epstein said.

Ironically, one of the top topics discussed: how Democrats can reduce the cost of their caucus.

"There was legitimate legislative work being done at this event," Marcy said.

It's understandable that lawmakers wanted to get out of the Capitol at least for the political portion of the day, given the attorney general's investigation into the use of state resources for campaign purposes.

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