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Lawmakers’ Per Diem Payments Increase

By Kleinheider Posted on December 11, 2009 at 8:09 am

Ben Cunningham is not pleased:

When they put something this important on autopilot and say, ‘Well we’re going to let this thing decide what are per diem is,’ taxpayers can’t put stuff on autopilot,” said taxpayer advocate Ben Cunningham. “We have to sit down on our budget every month.”

This year, that’s going up $14 a day, from $171 to $185, costing the state more than $350,000.

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2 Responses to “Lawmakers’ Per Diem Payments Increase”

  1. B writes
    December 11th, 2009 9:15 am

    To play the devil’s advocate here. The per diem rate (set by the federal GSA) is based on the average cost of a hotel room in an area. The “government rate” is still usually 20% or more below the standard rate for the hotel. Hotels can choose whether or not to honor the “government rate” based on availability and other factors. Example - the opryland hotel will sell rooms for a government convention at the government rate because they can still make money off the convention center fees and meals, even though the government rate is less than a third of the price of the standard room rate.

    What this really means when the state rate is decoupled from the federal rate is that fewer hotels are going to honor the lower rate. That means state employees (all of them - not just the lawmakers) who travel to Nashville on business will have a harder time finding a hotel room or will have to pay out of pocket to cover the difference between the maximum the state will pay out and what the hotel is willing to charge.

    The General Assembly was right to peg the state rate to the GSA rate - because it does both reflect a more realistic cost of hotel rooms and is also the rate most hotels are more likely to honor when they set their government rate.

    The gross misconception here is that all lawmakers are getting an extra $14 a day put into their pocket. Yes, a few lawmakers who rent Nashville apartments or stay with friends will get a modest increase. The one who just rent hotel rooms will still be likely paying the “government rate” - which just went up $14 when the GSA adjusted their tables. Again - thats if you can find a hotel that you’d want to stay in that will give you the government rate.

    Who would get screwed by this bill is state employees who travel and must try to find hotel rooms that will honor a “state government rate” that is even lower than the federal government rate - or must cover the difference out of their own pocket.

  2. kosh iii writes
    December 11th, 2009 1:50 pm

    If one cannot find a hotel room for less than $185 they are not looking very hard.

    Can state employees get an automatic raise?

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