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Committee delays bill to change per diem and mileage rates; will return with drafting fixes
Summary
A senator sought to change the mileage and per-diem reference from IRS rates to General Services Administration (GSA) rates to update payments for privately owned aircraft and other travel reimbursements; the committee rolled the bill to a later hearing for redrafting after counsel raised constitutional constraints.
The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee agreed to roll a bill that would change how per diem and mileage rates are set for legislators and staff so the sponsor and legislative counsel can revise language.
A senator told the committee the bill’s goal was to replace references to IRS per diem rates with government-service (GSA) rates, in part because prevailing reimbursement for privately owned aircraft has not been updated for about two decades. "The rates for small airplanes have not been updated in about 20 years," the sponsor said, urging a switch to GSA figures that adjust automatically.
The floor leader and committee staff pointed to Article IV, Section 10 of the state constitution, which the floor leader said explicitly requires legislators receive IRS per diem and mileage rates; that provision complicates a wholesale replacement. Committee counsel and the floor leader discussed alternatives such as leaving auto mileage tied to the IRS figure while applying the GSA rate or explicit statutory language for privately owned aircraft. The floor leader suggested counsel draft an amendment that keeps automobile mileage at the IRS rate and applies a GSA rate for privately owned airplanes to reduce future need for legislative fixes.
With legislative counsel asked to prepare language, the chair rolled the bill to the next committee hearing; the sponsor said he would return with amendments and asked to be first on the Wednesday calendar.
