State legislators spent $2,000 to more than $13,000 each of taxpayer money in 2004 in travel and transit to the capital alone, according to the 2004 Assembly Per Diem Rankings Report.
The money allocated to legislators living outside of Madison is allotted to pay for gas, food and lodging, according to Jay Heck of Common Cause of Wisconsin. The state allows lawmakers residing around Madison to spend $44 per day traveled, and those living further out from the city $88.
Heck said legislators often visit Madison and spend the full $88 allocated to them, even if they do not stay for the entire day and receive reimbursement for items not allowed under Per Diem restrictions.
Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, is the highest spender of all legislators, with $13,377 spent in 153 days in 2004. At the rate of $88 a day, Schneider — who lives about 108 miles from Madison — did not reach the maximum allowed by a mere $87.
Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, D-Milwaukee, spent $2,625 in 2004, which was the least amount of Per Diem money spent by representatives living outside the district of Madison.
“I consider [the low spending amount] as a very important achievement; a lot of people talk big in Madison about being fiscally conservative, and many people cannot practice what they preach,” Wasserman, whose commute from his Milwaukee residence is about 75 miles, said. “I have taken almost a 10 percent decrease on what we can take and I have never missed a session in the 10 years.”
The salary for Wisconsin legislators is approximately $44,000 a year, which is more than other states because it is one of the few states in the nation to hold a full-time legislature. For this reason, the legislators earn more money than other legislatures who are only in the office part time and hold a job elsewhere, Heck said.
Though some believe Wisconsin should return to a part-time legislature, Heck said the lawmakers themselves would fight against such change.
Despite cost and rule-following problems, Heck said most of the time the representatives are conscientious to taxpayers and there is not much abuse in the system.
The Per Diem Report comes out at a time when the state of Wisconsin faces another major budget crunch. With Gov. Jim Doyle poised to release his biennial budget in the middle of February, the Democrat must wrestle with a $1.6 billion deficit.
During last budget term, the governor worked to balance the state budget more than $2.2 billion in the red. Doyle opted to not raise taxes but cut many services, including $250 million to the University of Wisconsin System.
With the Per Diem spending under the microscope, Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz proposed in late November that the allotments be limited to every third day. The Richland Center Republican also proposed to prohibit out-of-state travel.
Assembly Speaker Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, also imposed a rule in the statehouse limiting the number of paid assistants state representatives can have to one.
— Matthew Dolbey contributed to this article
