The Legislative Council adopted a revision to its district office policy that establishes a $2,500 discretionary budget per legislative district to cover mileage and per diem for district legislative aides, additional office supplies and equipment, and limited travel, with authorization to begin using the funds after July 1.

The change matters because the new discretionary allocation is intended to make district legislative offices operational across the state while staff track usage and return to council to adjust the number or rules if the funds prove inadequate, particularly in large rural districts.

Shauna Casebeer, director of the Legislative Council Service, explained the proposal and what the discretionary allocation would cover: “When a district legislative aide is hired, they are immediately provided with a laptop, a monitor, a headset, a wireless keyboard and mouse, a voice over Internet protocol phone number, a printer scanner, a MiFi to access the Internet,” and basic office supplies. The discretionary $2,500 is intended for items beyond those basics and for mileage and per diem for staff traveling on official business.

Council members from rural districts objected that $2,500 will be insufficient for extensive travel. Representative Joanne Ferrary and Representative Liz Thompson said DLAs in large, sparsely populated districts need more support for travel than for brick‑and‑mortar offices. Representative Gail Armstrong and Representative Doreen Gallegos urged the working group to consider tiered DLA positions so aides can progress to higher pay bands for more complex duties.

Staff told members the policy currently limits district legislative aides’ initial hiring salary to 75% of the pay band maximum but that the general class and compensation policy allows exceptions for “exceptional experience” with higher approvals; those exceptions have not yet been used for DLAs. The council service also said procurement rules still apply — purchases must comply with state procurement law and are administered by the council service — and staff are exploring centralized purchasing options with major retailers to ease distribution to remote offices.

The council approved the district office policy revision and the $2,500 discretionary budget per district after discussion. The council directed staff to monitor spending, collect data on what offices purchase, and return with recommendations for revising the budget or policy if necessary. Staff said travel forms and reimbursement procedures are already available electronically and that DLAs may be paid mileage/per diem for approved travel on an email authorization from the legislator.

Members also asked for clarifications the working group will address later: whether discretionary funds can be used for out‑of‑state conferences (the current policy limits travel to in‑state), how regular versus irregular travel is defined (staff said it is not strictly defined in the policy), and what happens to DLAs if a legislator’s seat becomes vacant (the working group stated leadership offices supervise the DLA until a vacancy is filled).