By some estimates, the state Legislature is a cesspool of corruption. The recent indictment of former House Speaker John Perzel and nine other Republicans for allegedly using taxpayer dollars for partisan political campaigning is offered as the latest proof. Twelve people connected to the House Democratic caucus were similarly indicted last year in Attorney General Tom Corbett's ongoing grand jury investigation.

The dark cloud over the state capitol makes it hard to distinguish the bad guys from the good guys. State Rep. Katie True, of East Hempfield Township, is one of the good guys.

True, who recently announced plans to retire at the end of her term in 2010, has spent her adult life &tstr; in and outside the Legislature &tstr; advocating for children and families.

In her 15 years in the House &tstr; representing the 37th District for eight years and, now, the newly created 41st District &tstr; True has championed anti-drug activism and child advocacy, as well as women's issues.

She authored laws to protect abused children and victims of domestic violence, and a True-sponsored law created the check-off box on state income tax forms that allows taxpayers to dedicate some or all their state income-tax refund to breast-cancer research.

At the end of her self-imposed term limit in the 37th District, True served a stint as executive director of the Pennsylvania Commission for Women, where she continued her advocacy.

After an unsuccessful bid for statewide office as a Republican candidate for auditor general, True was encouraged by supporters to return to the Legislature as the representative of the newly constituted 41st District. She easily won election.

Over the years, True's tireless advocacy for children and families sometimes put her at odds with House leadership. She is a conservative, but one who has put principle above blind obedience to party.

True took on an advocacy role long before she entered elective politics. For several years, she was a strong and vocal presence in the Hempfield School District, where she carried out an anti-drug campaign.

She and a son, Peter, founded a program at Hempfield that uses drug- and alcohol-free teenage role models to warn elementary schoolchildren about the hazards of drug and alcohol use. The program spawned similar groups in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

Then-Gov. George W. Bush, who was running for president in April of 2000, praised True's efforts, calling her a "soldier in the armies of compassion."

After 41st District voters returned her to office for a fourth two-year term last year, True vowed to continue her work to make life better for Pennsylvania's children and families.

She also said she would work to restore faith in state government and the General Assembly, which have been dogged by controversy since at least the infamous middle-of-the-night legislative pay raise in 2005 (True routinely gives her pay raises to charity).

That has proven to be difficult, but the Legislature could not ask for a better advocate for good government.

Because of True's work, children are safer in their schools and women are safer in their homes. All Pennsylvanians owe this remarkable legislator a note of thanks for making Pennsylvania a better place to live.