Even as Gov. Phil Bredesen announced deeper budget slashing, there came the news that members of Tennessee's state House and Senate will get an 8.1 percent raise in their per diem.
Some lawmakers had the decency to respond with a mere sputter of outrage.
House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, who drives to Nashville from College Grove in Williamson County, said he was "kind of surprised" that the per diem went up. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner, who drives downtown from Old Hickory, said he "wasn't aware of the change," adding "We probably ought to look at it at some point."
Related8/16/09: Tennessee legislators rack up more than $1 million in expensesPer diem rises 8.1% for Tenn. legislatorsLook at it? How about fixing it the very first day of the legislative session in January? It amounts to a $14 daily raise, upping the per diem lawmakers get from $171 to $185 a day. That may not seem like much to some folks who opt for swanky lunches, but for a person existing on unemployment checks because they've been laid off? An extra $70 a week would feel mighty sweet.
To Casada's credit, he told Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Andy Sher they should look at rolling this back.
It comes off as faux surprise.
Those legislators can be clever little devils. Some time ago, they passed a law that automatically raises their per diem rate to match whatever the federal reimbursement rate is in the Nashville area. That rate is recalculated automatically every Oct. 1. When it goes up, members of the Tennessee General Assembly automatically get a raise without having to vote on it.
Do they think we're stupid?
State lawmakers make $19,000 a year in salary, plus $1,000 a month to pay for a home office. The per diem is on top of that. It is allegedly meant to reimburse them for meals and lodging while traveling to and from Nashville when the legislature is in session.
Allegedly is the right word, because most of them who live in and around Nashville (like Turner and Casada) have minimal expenses and take the per diem anyway. And, lawmakers who travel to Nashville in the out-of-session months for so-called "study" committee sessions also get the per diem.
Granted, this is a citizen legislature. Most of them live a ways out, and need and deserve reasonable compensation for the expenses that come with traveling to Nashville.
But is this reasonable? Tennessee legislators claimed more than $1 million in per diems for the first half of 2009, according to an earlier story by Tennessean reporter Chas Sisk. This increase will bump that up even higher.
How can any reasonable person try to justify that when Gov. Bredesen has ordered state departments to cut their budgets by anywhere from 6 to 9 percent.
More state employees are going to lose their jobs. But state lawmakers won't feel their pain too much, because they can afford an extra toddy after dinner.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
Gail Kerr's column runs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. She can be reached at 615-259-8085 or gkerr@tennessean.com.
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