The Alaska House has voted to cut the daily allowance lawmakers can claim during session in a bid to show legislators’ willingness to take a financial hit amid a state budget deficit.
The vote came during debate on the state budget Thursday.
The allowance, which is tied to a federal rate, rose March 1 to $275 a day for lawmakers who do not live in Juneau and $206 for lawmakers from Juneau, where the session is held.
Anchorage independent Rep. Jason Grenn, who offered the cut, says it would be 75 percent of the prior rate of $213 per day for non-Juneau Legislators and $160 for Juneau legislators.
Factors cited in to the debate on per diem is the need for legislators who do not live in Juneau to maintain a household back home and acknowledgment that legislators sometimes give up well-paying jobs for public service.
