Several weeks ago, state Rep. John Soper wrote a $4,000 check and sent it to a fund set up to help repair Colorado’s rusting Capitol dome.
Soper said he donated the per diem he collected when the legislature was in session this year because he doesn’t need the money and he wanted to help a good cause.
“And by putting it to the dome, I know that it goes to a job that pays good wages and good benefits,” Soper said this week.
Colorado’s 100 lawmakers are allowed to collect a daily per diem, a sort of legislative allowance, for the 120 days the legislature is in session.
The Denver Post on Sunday wrote about per diem and how much each lawmaker collected this session.
Soper, a Thornton Democrat, sought per diem for 84 days, collecting $3,780. He rounded up that amount when writing his check to help the dome fund.
Soper said he told some colleagues earlier this year of his intent, but he doesn’t know whether others followed suit.
“There are some people who have to live off what they make as a legislator, but I have my retirement,” said Soper, who turns 71 next month.
He receives a naval pension, union pension and Social Security in addition to his $30,000-a-year salary as a legislator.
Metro-area lawmakers receive $45 daily per diem, while other lawmakers receive $150 daily per diem. Some lawmakers charge for the maximum 120 days, while three Democratic lawmakers didn’t charge any per diem because of the budget crisis.
The total cost of per diem for the session was $960,510, according to the Legislative Council.
State architects say it will take close to $12 million and about three years to patch rusted portions of the dome or recast sections of it.
A 10-pound chunk of cast iron fell off the dome in 2007, prompting officials to close a public walkway around the exterior of the dome.
Lawmakers settled on a plan that calls for $4 million to come from the State Historical Fund, with plans to try to raise the remaining funds through private donations.
The campaign to raise that money, Share in the Care Colorado, has already begun, but the formal launch will begin when the 2011 legislative session opens in January, said James Hare, executive director of Colorado Preservation Inc.
With Soper’s check, the fund has received about $70,000 so far, he said.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
Dome donations
Learn more about the program to help repair the state Capitol dome at .
To donate:
Checks can be made out to:
Capitol Dome Restoration Trust Fund
c/o Colorado Preservation Inc.
2100 Downing St.
Suite 3000
Denver, CO 80205
Or go online:
