AB79: Bill Text

LRB-1616/1

RAC:cjs:md

2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE

2011 Assembly BILL 79

April 7, 2011 - Introduced by Representative Radcliffe. Referred to Committee on Assembly Organization.

AB79,1,2 An Act to amend 13.123 (1) (a) 1. of the statutes; relating to: limiting the number of days on which legislators may claim allowances and expenses.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, a legislator may claim an allowance for expenses incurred for food and lodging for each day that he or she is in Madison on legislative business, but not including any Saturday or Sunday unless the legislator is in actual attendance on such day at a session of the legislature or a meeting of a standing committee of which the legislator is a member. This bill limits the days for which the per diem allowance may be claimed to 50 days a year.

For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB79, s. 1 Section 1. 13.123 (1) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB79,2,15 13.123 (1) (a) 1. Any member of the legislature who has signified, by affidavit filed with the department of administration, the necessity of establishing a temporary residence at the state capital for the period of any regular or special legislative session shall be entitled to an allowance for expenses incurred for food and lodging for each day that he or she is in Madison on legislative business, but not including any Saturday or Sunday unless the legislator is in actual attendance on such day at a session of the legislature or a meeting of a standing committee of which the legislator is a member. The amount of the allowance for each biennial session shall be 90% of the per diem rate for travel for federal government business within the city of Madison, as established by the federal general services administration. For the purpose of determining the amount of the allowance, the director of the office of state employment relations shall certify to the chief clerk of each house the federal per diem rate in effect on December 1, or the first business day thereafter if December 1 is not a business day, in each even-numbered year. Each legislator shall file an affidavit with the chief clerk of his or her house certifying the specific dollar amount within the authorized allowance the member wishes to receive. Such affidavit, when filed, shall remain in effect for the biennial session. A legislator may not claim a per diem allowance for more than 50 days in a year.

AB79,2,16 (End)