Legislators will collect pay despite not finishing budget on time

Legislators wasted very little time in ensuring they got per diem back payments for the recently finished special session.

Four hours and nine minutes after the Alaska Legislature adjourned its 29-day special session this past Thursday, the Legislative Council voted to allow lawmakers to get all of their per diem payments for that session. They voted to do that despite House Bill 44, which passed into law last year and states that legislators wouldn’t receive a per diem — a daily payment meant to cover living and eating expenses — if they didn’t pass a budget on time. This year, the Legislature didn’t pass a budget until June 10.

The Legislative Council, which is a group of 14 senators and representatives in leadership positions that makes decisions related to the Legislature, met Thursday afternoon to discuss a couple items including the per diem question. Megan Wallace, director of Legislative Legal Services, presented to the council and said it’s possible to interpret HB 44 as allowing lawmakers to get per diem after the fact.

[‘A slap to the face’: Legislators could change law to collect extra pay, despite not finishing on time]

Read more: https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/news/legislators-will-collect-pay-despite-not-finishing-budget-on-time/