Serving in the state legislature should not be a job reserved for the more well-off among us.
That’s one of the reasons we support a bill to by 22 percent, a bump that would to take place this summer.
It’s a reasonable increase for those who have to rent apartments in Denver, effectively keeping two households for at least four months of the year.
Yet, the bill is probably doomed to fail. That’s because it’s a politically charged issue in an election year dominated by a still-weak economy. And its fate also has to do with the .
First, a little background. The per diem issue is always a hot one at the legislature. Back in 2007, state lawmakers voted to . At that time, it hadn’t been raised in 18 years.
In addition, lawmakers pegged it to a percentage of the federal government’s standard per diem rate.
Thus, when the feds raised their reimbursement rate in 2010, Colorado’s rate should have gone up as well. However, legislators passed a bill delaying the hike due to the rocky economy.
This go-round, no one thus far has moved a bill to delay the increase to $183 a day. Funds to pay for that increase — a total of $189,420 — were . The bill passed the state House without discussion about the per diem hike.
After the Pueblo Chieftain wrote a story saying the per diem increase was included in the bill, the issue began to get attention.
On Tuesday, the to once again delay the per diem increase.
That would be .
“Living on the outskirts, it’s difficult for people with young families to be able to afford to live up here and serve in the legislature,” Rep. Keith Swerdfeger, R-Pueblo West, told the Chieftain.
Lawmakers who live within the metro area receive $45 a day per diem, and all state lawmakers earn $30,000 annually for what is supposed to be a part-time job, but consumes significant amounts of time in the “off-season.”
We’re not crying for them, but let’s be honest about acknowledging the scope of the job.
As for the cost of the per diem increase, it’s a valid issue. Even though the economy is looking up, the state still has revenue woes.
We get that. But we also think it’s important for everyday working people to be able to pay their bills while bringing their perspective to the state’s lawmaking body.
In order to truly have a citizens’ legislature, ordinary citizens have to be able to afford to serve in it.
