Legislators hit the road on state's dime

Seeking to cut costs in hard times, the Legislature banned most out-of-state travel by state employees. But the travel restriction doesn't apply to lawmakers themselves, dozens of whom are headed to national conferences this week and next at public expense.

The Senate will spend $24,000 to send six senators to this week's American Legislative Exchange Council conference in Atlanta and six others and a staff member to next week's gathering in Philadelphia of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The House is spending up to $31,000 to send 27 representatives to the ALEC or NCSL conferences. The House limits each lawmaker to $1,150 for one conference at state expense, and the Senate will pay $2,000 for each member.

Legislators clamped down on state money used for agency travel by requiring that it get approval as a mission-critical expense. But lawmakers put no such restrictions on their own travel. The $55,000 cost for their conference travel is the equivalent of funding 21 children in prekindergarten classes, reinstating bonuses for seven teachers who become nationally certified, or paying for $117 vaccines for 470 underprivileged children. Full story here.

Steve Bousquet

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Comments

[Congrats]

Is there a more predictable once a year story that no one cares about than this ?

[Really?]

Who needs Pre-K...and teacher bonuses, who cares. We should be spending that $41,000 on airplane hangars, fancy furniture or to fly around our current cabinet officers and legislative leadership.

[sick of both parties.]

I can tell you with certainty that these conferences are a joke. Especially the ALEC Conference. It is a right wing special interest sponsored event. Nothing there cannot be gotten from using the internet. I attended one a few years ago, staff can and does go also, and I wanted to hear about pharmacuetical issues. The entire presentation was spnsored by the pharmaceutical companies and no one else. It was very slanted material and that was the same for every issue class I attended. MOstly staff and industry at classes, no many legislators are at the meetings. It is a total waste of money and is just a "vacation party getaway", one that is paid for by the taxpayer. OUTRAGEOUS. What ever happened to teleconferencing? I bet if they had these learning classes via teleconferencing, there would not be one legislators sitting in the Capitol watching and (wink) "learning". There are numerous beautiful flat screen TVs all over the Capitol. Why do any of them think this is a "conservative" thing to do at such a horrible economic time? The people are being taxed for these legislators to go partying. Both parties are guilty of this.

[Just me.]

"congrats" I care. I pay taxes. Your response just solidifies the fact that there is blatant disregard by legislators for the peoples taxes as well as their representative government. This has gone on so long in part because of the citizenry not caring or having any confidence in poiticians. For you to shrug it off as just nothing that we should consider, right after the legislature has slashed and cut budgets and has not practiced what they preach, is beyond absurd. It would be interesting to see how the public would react to these blogs if they were in the printed paper? I think they would be outraged to see the attitude, by the insiders and they would be outraged to even know these things are happenning. Put these blogs in the regular printed paper and watch the sleeping public awaken. You would sell many more papers once it caught on also.

[when does it end?]

this is a stupid article! How many squares of toilet paper do they use? Seriously!

[Get real]

4:13. You are forgetting these are politicians. They use tons of t paper as they are so full of s--t. We could probably fund the entire buget with the amount of toilet paper they use.
You asked.

[Shameless R. Us]

It is indeed a regular story, and so is the hypocrisy that causes it. It's not bad to go to such things, but when the requirements and restrictions are so stringent for others,why should members be so special? Except in their minds, they are--and that's what makes people so disgusted with politicians. Why not try living a little more like "the people" you always talk about wanting to "serve" and "give back" to?

[Get real]

It is bad to go to fake "learning" conventions. And you are right that they should practice what they preach. Save money, learn via computer or teleconference like mention above. It is a taxpayer VACATION and NOTHING more. Bad

[Bob from south walton]

Oh no they didn't

[bitch,bitch, bitch]

If you earned $29,000 a year would you take all this trash talk? Why serve? and who can afford to serve? Guess we will go back to only the wealthy serving in office because they can buy the position and pay for their own trips

[seenitfirst hand]

Why doesn't someone public record request each senator and house member's travel for the last two years? Would be interesting to see who did the most, including leadership but also non leadership. Redact out session and committee weeks to get a true read. Look at calendars and also the expense reports that each senator and house member is required to report as part of office account disclosure . . . not just the reimbursements re-paid to the member by the state.

[yeah!]

Go get 'em, Mary Ellen!

[!]

!

[you pay it then]

"this is a stupid article! How many squares of toilet paper do they use? Seriously!

Posted by: when does it end? | July 14, 2009 at 04:13 PM"
You pay it then if its peanuts.
we have cut everything there is to cut EXCEPT the legislatures little field trips! All the wacko extremist wingnuts cry about Al Gore not leading by example,why not the republican lead legislature ? Oh I forgot,rules only apply to non-extremists!!!

[Blackstone]

Mary Ellen, twenty-six members and staff constitute "dozens"? Seems to me like you overplayed the outrage factor. Also, Seenitfirsthand's proposal sounds reasonable. Can't believe you didn't think of that already. What was in that records search that didn't get included in your story?

[CRIST=SPECTER]

The money legislators are using to attend conferences relevant to their duties as legislators PALE in comparison to the amount of money Chuckles the Clown spends on jetsetting all around the country and around the state to attend things that have ZIPPO to do with governing.

Just look at how many places he goes to sign a single bill.

Camera wh0re, that he is.

[we can spell too]

H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E-S

[Anon]

Here we are in July, time for the annual "let's bash legislators for going to NCSL and ALEC" article. All these lazy journalist need to do is a search and replace on the location name and "bam", you have "journalism".

Despite what other posters have indicated, these meetings are not a joke and are a good use of money - taxpayer or otherwise. Do some members skip out on sessions? Yes, but to suggest that these meetings are useless suggests to me that many of these posters have not been to them.

Save your righteous indignation - both meetings provide good policy information and training to legislators. Get over it.

[Vic]

"The $41,000 cost for their conference travel is the equivalent of funding 16 children in pre-kindergarten classes, or reinstating bonuses for five teachers who become nationally certified, or paying for $117 vaccines for 350 underprivileged children."

I know you aren't Bob Woodward, but come on Mary Ellen, are you kidding me? Even Bill Cotterell wouldn't post such an embarrassing analogy. It's the journalistic equivalent of "you need to eat your collard greens because there are starving children in Africa." $41,000 is a lot of money? Really? Really? It's simple pandering to the ignorant Joe Six-Pack. Tell them what they want to hear and don't provide any balance - government is bad, legislator can't wait to leave town with stacks of taxpayer money to buy booze and hookers. Don't wait by the phone for the call from the Pulitzer Prize committee, instead try to actually report on an NCSL or ALEC meeting.

[Get real]

"b i t c h, b i t c h, b i t c h," you have got to be kidding. Have you ever seen their financial disclosures? They are the rich wealthy. That is why they are there and why Keep the salary low so ONLY the rich and wealthy can be there. They will not raise a legislators salary to even a reasonable amount like 45k a year. They know more people could afford to serve the public at that amount.
They don't want the average guy/gal to serve. You think a jim King or a Mike Bennett, or Don Gaetz would be there for the salary or to serve? They get to pass bills that allow big businesses, including their own to have the inside edge. All while feeding their very large egos with titles and favor. Look at their financial disclosures and then look at the few who happen to come in with moderate to hardly any wealth, they go broke and have great debt because of servinge, or stay awhile then leave with larger wealth when they leave. How did they do that on a legislators salary?

[TI]

Anon, Ive been to them, and you are so full of it. They are pretty much useless and the aides get to go to sessions. Legislators are hardly there.And at a time of cutting ALL kinds of budgets, at a time when the very same legislators thump their chests about state agencies going to these kinds of places and spending money on travel, there is NOTHING positive one could say about going on vacation without sounding and looking like hypocrites. NICE TRY, BUT, NOT GOING TO CONVINCE ANYONE BUT YOURSELF.

[Good Points]

I believe it's OK to go to conferences and maybe learn things, but the hypocacy and "i'm so special" attitude displayed is breathtaking.
OTOH, "get real" makes valid points. The low salary already insures that only the wealthy, or those with good business partners or spouses, can serve now. These trips aren't "sexy" enough to have much real appeal as vacations, except for a very small handful of members who don't get out much.
But the analogies are indeed laying it on a bit thick.

[I Want Mine]

This is a GREAT story! Anyone who gets to go somewhere that I don't is obviously a crook. Personally, I want my representatives and senators to be isolated from the rest of the country. If staying home and pulling weeds in the back yard this summer is good enough for me, then its good enough for them. Come to think of it, why aren't my representative and senator pulling my weeds for me? Public servant indeed!

[Surprising]

David Aronberg, who is running in a Democratic primary, is going to the GOP conference? It is a rather interesting use of his time.

Any chance he is going to speak on a panel about the good virtues of school vouchers?

[Me again]

10:32 you call San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, The Grand Ole Opry, and other great places not vacation material? Do you know the fun things that they go and do at these conferences? Theres fishing, golfing, gambling, Theatre, so many things that are not only organized, but just there to do. Tey have a great time even drinking in the great bars all on tax dollars.