HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Just before relinquishing the Speaker’s gavel, Rep. Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) moved tens of millions of dollars out of the Legislative Data Processing Center. Millions of more dollars were also moved out of the Speaker’s account.

More than $52 million ended up in the Republican Leadership Account, which Cutler now controls.

“We have caucus money that are allocated every year in the budget and that’s the money we moved plain and simple,” said Cutler.

Questions do remain why that much money is sitting in something innocuously called the Legislative Data Processing Center.

“It certainly shouldn’t be,” said Appropriations Chair Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery), “and I agree with you 100%. That’s the problem with the lack of transparency in this whole process and that’s what’s so disconcerting too about the raiding of these funds.”

Cutler says every move involving the money has been made in public, saying “those monies are documented every year in the budget that both sides negotiate and vote on.”

Eric Epstein of the government watchdog group “Rock the Capitol” says more needs to be done to monitor where money like this is going and coming from.

“We need to have a serious discussion about what money goes into the reserve, we call it ‘slush fund,’ and we need to cap it there needs to be a ceiling on that money.”

The legislative reserves are over $200 million, which all sides agree is necessary to fund themselves during a budget impasse.

“Where Governors have for the lack of a better word tried to starve out the legislature outlast their ability to fight when we’ve had budget disputes,” said Bradford.

But questions remain regarding the millions of dollars sitting in oddly named places, including how much money is needed and where is it kept?

“Why is there a legislative (Democrat) account, a legislative (Republican) account? It does because of instances like this really make one wonder ‘why can’t these guys get along in the same sandbox,'” said Bradford.

“The legislators are like children you need to have someone babysit them,” said Epstein. “That’s a significant amount of money.”

Cutler argues that because Republicans have been such good stewards of taxpayer money they’ve been able to build up a big surplus.