Posted by
SD45 on Thursday, July 02, 2009 12:25:59 AM
Rep. Lyndon Carlson (D-45B) is again in the top of per diem (daily expenses) earners for 2008. He charged $13,860, just below fellow DFLers Tom Rukavina. Speaker Margaret Kelliher and Alan Juhnke.
Senator Ann Rest (D-45) made the top five in the senate, earning $15,936. With other line items, her total for the year reached $20,775.06.
Early this year, WCCO's
Pat Kessler explained the money grab:
IN FACT, officially, the legislature meets for about 3 to 5 months every year, and lawmakers get paid $31,140 every year. They also receive daily expense payments called per diem, which originally was meal money, but now can boost their income by more than 50 percent.
It's TRUE. Lawmakers can get up to $96 a day in the Senate and up to
$77 a day in the House. They can receive per diem seven days a week
during the session, even when they're not physically at the Capitol.
And it counts toward their pensions.
No receipts are necessary and no questions are asked.
You can download House and Senate per diem earnings at the
WCCO article. Since we taxpayers pay their salaries (and per diems), it's time we ask questions - then unseat them both in 2010.