Two months, one new law – and legislators got paid $500,000

The legislature didn’t get much done when it spent over a month in session in January and February, but the weeks of mostly no-vote sessions cost taxpayers about $500,000 in per diem payments to lawmakers.

Legislators receive $104 for food and lodging expenses for each day the legislature is in session, and records released by the Legislative Services Office show the majority of House and Senate members opted to take the payments for many of the days when no votes were scheduled.

While all but five days had blank agendas, 137 of the 170 House and Senate members received per diem payments totaling more than $2,000 between Jan. 1 and March 15.

Those figures also include some legislative oversight committee meetings that met during that time frame; legislators receive a single day of per diem for each of those meetings. When the legislature is in session, lawmakers are eligible for seven per diem payments each week even if there’s no weekend work.

During past sessions when the legislature held an extended series of no-vote or “skeletal” sessions, leaders sometimes have encouraged legislators to waive per diem payments for those days. In January and February, a small number of lawmakers — including Republican Sen. Chad Barefoot and Democratic Rep. Joe John, both of Wake County, and Democratic Rep. MaryAnn Black of Durham County — waived their per diem payments nearly every day.

The highest total per diem payments during the time period went to the top two House leaders, House Rules Chairman David Lewis ($5,824) and House Speaker Tim Moore ($5,720). Moore and Lewis received per diem on dates the legislature was not in session, apparently the result of meetings and business they conduct in Raleigh between sessions. Legislators are allowed to receive per diem payments outside of sessions with permission from legislative leaders when they are “traveling as a representative of the General Assembly or of its committees or commissions, or otherwise in the service of the state,” according to the law.

The other legislators in the top 10 of total per diem payments during the period were Rep. Kyle Hall, R-Stokes ($5,200), Rep. Donna White, R-Johnston ($5,096), Rep. Josh Dobson, R-McDowell ($4,992), Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell ($4,888), Sen. Kathy Harrington, R-Gaston ($4,888), Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln ($4,784), Rep. Bobbie Richardson, D-Franklin ($4,784), and then-Sen. David Curtis, R-Lincoln ($4,784).

Asked about the high level of per diem payments, many of the legislators said they kept a busy schedule of committee work, constituent meetings and other business that kept them in Raleigh frequently during the January-February session.

“I think it’s important to note that there’s more to being a legislator than showing up to push a red or green button,” Hall said in an email. “I take this job very seriously and do my homework, which requires me to spend a lot of time in Raleigh.”

Others said they attended the skeletal sessions. “On ‘no vote’ session days, each party likes to have representation from some members, and as a whip I felt it was my duty to be present,” Richardson said in an email. “In addition, I was in Raleigh several days to see constituents and representatives of various organizations and state departments, all related to my legislative duties.”

White said that as a legislator who lives close to Raleigh, she’s often asked by the speaker to attend skeletal sessions, and she makes use of the time to schedule constituent meetings and other work. Hise said his busy workload stemmed from chairing the Senate’s redistricting committee, which was dealing with several matters at the beginning of 2018.

Dobson said he spent many days crafting a particular health care bill. “The majority of those months were spent working with multiple stakeholders on HB 403,” he said in an email. “This consequential bill integrated behavioral and physical health for the Medicaid population. This bill was eventually passed unanimously and signed by the governor during the short session. However, a lot of hours of work and negotiating went into this bill prior to it becoming law.”

While Dobson’s bill ultimately became law in June, not much substantive legislation emerged from the January/February session.

The House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on a GenX environmental bill, and the only major bill passed was House Bill 90, which addressed the state’s controversial class size requirements.

This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Two months, one new law – and legislators got paid $500,000."