Perk boosts pay in Assembly

Keegan Kyle | USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

MADISON – Wisconsin Assembly members are pocketing more in travel allowances after a change they said would hold the line on those costs, and Republicans are taking home more in payments than their Democratic counterparts.

When the Assembly increased stipends in January for legislators who stay overnight in Madison on state business, it lowered the maximum allowance for single-day visits. Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican from southeast Wisconsin, said then the change wouldn’t cost taxpayers more money.

That has not been the case, shows a Gannett Wisconsin Media review of records.

Payouts for the legislator stipends, known as per diems, are up in the Assembly this year and outpacing previous odd years in which the Legislature was also busy approving a new state budget. The new reimbursement rules also have been a bigger boon for Assembly Republicans than Democrats. While per diems paid to Republicans have climbed by 12 percent since 2013, the change is virtually flat for Democrats, according to Gannett Wisconsin’s review. Republicans currently hold four more seats in the chamber than two years ago.

The overall rise in per diem costs in the 99-member Assembly is a stark contrast to a drop in the 33-member Senate, which still pays members up to $88 per day regardless of hotel needs. Senators received about $136,000 in per diems through September this year, down from $230,000 two years ago. Also unlike the Assembly, the decline was evenly split among Senate Republicans and Democrats.

Financial disclosures published on a state website show the perk cost taxpayers about $738,000 through September. The bill during the same span in 2013 and 2011, when Republicans controlled the Assembly by similar margins, was about $49,000 and $63,000 lower, respectively. It was about $68,000 lower in 2009 when Democrats held a slight majority.

The gap from past years is also likely to widen further because legislators gathered at the Capitol last month for a special session featuring votes on campaign finance and election oversight. How much those additional work days in Madison will cost taxpayers should be clearer next month when state clerks typically release an annual summary of per diem payouts.

Vos’ office verified the thrust of Gannett Wisconsin’s findings, though it calculated different year-to-date totals because it relied on another set of state records that track per diem costs. According to the office’s analysis, per diem spending was up 11.7 percent through September this year compared to the first nine months of 2013.

Still, Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer downplayed the increase, noting that the Assembly has cut spending in other areas such as printing and is on track to fall more than $300,000 below its total budget target. She called per diem costs “close” to previous years.

“I think we’re in a very good position heading into the last part of the budget cycle,” Beyer said. “We’re making sure that we maintain a healthy surplus.”

'More equitable'

Vos told news reporters in January and Beyer reiterated to Gannett Wisconsin Media that the Assembly modified per diem amounts to account for rising hotel room prices in Madison and to more fully reimburse legislators. Per diems are intended to cover meals and lodging, though legislators aren't required to provide receipts of their expenses. They may also claim 51 cents per mile for authorized travel.

Most Assembly members can now claim up to $138 per overnight stay in Madison and up to $69 per day for non-overnight visits. The rate was previously $88 per day whether legislators stayed overnight or not.

Republican and Democratic leaders in the Assembly voted unanimously to approve the policy shift. Columnist Bill Lueders reported in January that Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, called the adjusted rates "more equitable." Since then, records show Barca has received at least $12,500 in per diems.

One critic of the new rates is Matt Rothschild, director of the nonprofit Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. He called the policy "disgraceful" in light of the Republican-controlled Legislature's opposition to hiking the statewide minimum wage.

"They’re making more than the average Wisconsinite and they're essentially raising their salaries," Rothschild said. "It smelled like they were feathering their own nests instead of taking care of the needs of their citizens."

Highest paid

Gannett Wisconsin Media tracked per diem costs over time based on the date that legislators were paid for their work. This method varies from one used routinely by state clerks and can produce slightly different results. Clerks track costs based on the dates that legislators worked.

According to our analysis, the highest paid Republican through September was Rep. John Nygren, co-chairman of the Legislature’s budget committee. He received more than $13,000 in per diems in addition to his $50,950 annual legislator salary.

Nygren lives in Marinette, about 50 miles north of Green Bay and about three and a half hours away from the Capitol by car. In 2013, when he also co-chaired the budget committee, Nygren received about $4,600 less in per diems through the first nine months.

In a statement, Nygren called working on the state budget a full-time job. He said his time in the capital has decreased this year since the budget's approval, but he will continue to spend a significant amount of time on legislative efforts such as a package of bills aimed at fighting opiate abuse.

Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, the minority caucus’ vice chairwoman, was the Assembly's highest paid Democrat, also receiving more than $13,000. Her drive to the Capitol from her Milwaukee district takes about an hour and a half. In a statement, Zamarripa said she sits on some of the Legislature's busiest committees covering elections and health policy and that she has "spent a lot of time standing up for my constituents' best interests and doing the people's business in Madison."

Keegan Kyle is an investigative reporter for Gannett Wisconsin Media. He can be reached at kkyle@gannett.com or on Twitter @keegankyle.