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rate to be the maximum allowable rate as established by the IRS. Present-day, that amount would be $123/day. While the increase may not sound substantial, the total price tag associated with the increase would be $65,000 of taxpayer money. Moreover, it does not take into account the precedent we will establish. It will be difficult to justify not increasing per diem for other persons serving on commissions, as well as all other state employees who attend meetings in their official capacities. Also, it would be a vast deviation from existing policy that requires legislators to cast a vote and to be held accountable for increasing their total compensation. For the record, we make $6,000/year as our salary. When you take into account per diem reimbursements, most legislators' compensation exceeds $11,000. I voted no on the bill. It passed 36-33 and will head to the Senate where I hope it meets its demise.
(Continued on page 5)
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