Oregon senators have returned home following a surprise delay in the ongoing special session. But for taxpayers, the meter is still running.
State law dictates that members of the House and Senate must be paid a $178 per diem when in session — a daily rate they receive even if legislators are not doing any legislating.
When Senate leaders announced Tuesday they were taking a two-week hiatus to allow Sen. Chris Gorsek to recuperate from health issues, they ensured two more weeks of payments.
The per diems add about $75,000 on top of the session’s initial expected cost of roughly $86,000. That’s a bit awkward at a time Democrats are already pushing a bill that will raise costs on Oregonians. The question now is what lawmakers do with the money.
Senate Democrats initially looked into strategies that would allow their members to voluntarily forgo being paid. Legislative lawyers told them that wasn’t possible, a spokesperson said. That’s because the wording of Oregon statute says lawmakers “shall receive” the payments.
Instead, Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama, D-Portland, is asking Democrats not to keep the money.
“Sen. Jama has sent a message to all of the caucus members strongly recommending that for the dates Sept. 4 to Sept. 16 that they donate their per diem to a community nonprofit organization,” said Elizabeth Cronen, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats.
Cronen declined to provide Jama’s message to his members. But many Senate Democrats asked about the matter are making plans to donate their payments. Sens. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, and Kate Lieber, D-Portland said they planned to donate the money to nonprofits or other institutions in their district.
“There are services that affect my community that we are underfunding,” Golden said.
Senate President Rob Wagner will donate his roughly $2,300 to College Possible Oregon, which helps low-income students gain admission to higher education, his office said. And state Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, said on Instagram he had two charities in mind for the money.
Republicans aren’t getting the same message from their leader. “I haven’t asked my caucus for anything,” Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said Thursday. “Nor will I.”
Bonham declined to say if he planned to do anything specific with the per diem money, calling the question offensive.
Oregon lawmakers are paid around $40,000 per year, a base salary that legislators have long argued is a disincentive to hold a role that extends far beyond legislative sessions. To help defray additional costs that come with spending time in Salem, state law grants the $178 daily payment.
Lawmakers also get monthly stipends of $400 to cover “expenses incurred in the performance of official duties” when they are out of session.
