Post by Logan on Jul 3, 2016 20:38:18 GMT -6
Total cost for the recent 17-day slog of a special session on the budget come out to $599,610, excluding a few stragglers who haven’t turned in expenses yet.
That works out to $35,271 a day — or pretty close to the $35,000 a day estimate the Gazette-Mail was using on its daily “countdown to shutdown” box.
Total House of Delegates costs were $430,281, with $236,150 in per-day pay and $194,131 in expenses ($131 a day for meals and lodging, or $55 a day for meals for commuting legislators, plus mileage at 54 cents a mile.)
Total Senate costs were $169,329, with $87,650 for per-day pay and $81,679 for expenses.
Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, had the highest tab of any legislator, at $8,335, including $5,100 in per-day pay. (State law provides that the president and House speaker get $300 a day special session pay, double the $150 a day for other members, maybe because they have to stand during floor sessions. Majority and minority leaders in both houses get an extra $50 a day. That all seems a bit unfair since the House and Senate Finance chairmen worked the hardest during the session, but still got the base, $150 a day rate.)
- See more at: www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20160702/statehouse-beat-budget-special-session-cost-600000
That works out to $35,271 a day — or pretty close to the $35,000 a day estimate the Gazette-Mail was using on its daily “countdown to shutdown” box.
Total House of Delegates costs were $430,281, with $236,150 in per-day pay and $194,131 in expenses ($131 a day for meals and lodging, or $55 a day for meals for commuting legislators, plus mileage at 54 cents a mile.)
Total Senate costs were $169,329, with $87,650 for per-day pay and $81,679 for expenses.
Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, had the highest tab of any legislator, at $8,335, including $5,100 in per-day pay. (State law provides that the president and House speaker get $300 a day special session pay, double the $150 a day for other members, maybe because they have to stand during floor sessions. Majority and minority leaders in both houses get an extra $50 a day. That all seems a bit unfair since the House and Senate Finance chairmen worked the hardest during the session, but still got the base, $150 a day rate.)
- See more at: www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20160702/statehouse-beat-budget-special-session-cost-600000