No Travel Money For State Reps & Senators
Every so often a conference can be useful, but by and large these things are nothing but junkets.
Donna Stone would have pitched a fit – but the voters took care of that problem in advance.
Connect
Connect with us on the following social media platforms.
The conferences are actually very useful. We just can’t afford them this year. The legislators get thousands for an expense allowance. Let them use that money. They can use Priceline and William Shatner will get them there in budget.
Jason,
Great post, the conferences are indeed 80% self congratulation and 20% serve the citizens.
Perhaps the legislature could set the example and take a voluntary pay cut of 20% to reflect the 20% budget shortfall?
Also, legislators who have state jobs or jobs which get funding from the state should be the first to sacrifice?
They are probably not the real problem. It’s the underlings, in form of directors, department heads, assistants, and other admin. folks that keep a suitcase packed, and conference form filled out.
You’ll notice that nobody has produced a number to reflect how much this will save.
If you look at any of the budgets, every little bullshit department in every division has travel expenses allowed.
Probably save a million overall.
Estimated savings as reported in the 2-5-2009 News-Journal:
“The state stands to save between $180,000 and $190,000 by stopping legislative travel, (House Speaker Robert F.)Gilligan said. The money saved will go back to the general fund to help erase the $84.5 million budget deficit that remains for the current fiscal year.”
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090205/NEWS02/902050355/-1/updates
My point exactly Brian-thank you!
“It’s the underlings, in form of directors, department heads, assistants, and other admin. folks that keep a suitcase packed, and conference form filled out.”
It’s a start, but at $180,000, it’s largely symbolic compared to the travel expenses incurred by the various departments. Whenever budget cuts are mandated, travel expenses are usually the first thing to get the axe, so it’ll *trickle down* to the “underlings”.
State legislators can go to the various state offices around the state and teleconference if they want since about 70% of the state agencies have teh technology.
And that million is actually fairly symbolic against a 84M deficit. But it does take an item off of the table that is a favorite bete noir of folks who won’t think bigger.
I think it’s a good move. The money may be a drop in the bucket but it is setting a tone for everyone else. It’s hard to ask others to sacrifice when you’re not willing to sacrifice yourself.
Let’s talk about real money……….what about those ‘street funds’ ? How much would that shave off the deficit?
Not to be too cynical, but La Narcolepsia points out that the next meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures, which they attend in droves, is not until late July (in Philadelphia). The Eastern Region of the Council of State Governments also does not meet until August (in Vermont). Gilligan said they would not be traveling the rest of this fiscal year.
The next national meeting of CSG is in May in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. They sacrificed Coeur d’Alene, but did they really give up anything else?