A bill by State Senator Lowe Finney to freeze state lawmaker expense rates and mileage reimbursements passed a Senate committee last week and will go before the Senate Finance Committee.
“Tennessee families are cutting their budgets, so we as elected officials should also be willing to bear that burden,” Finney said.
Senate Bill 1372 would freeze lawmaker daily expense payments and mileage reimbursement rates at their current rates. Members of the General Assembly currently receive per diem payments of $176 and mileage reimbursement of $0.46 per mile. The reimbursement rate is tied to a federal formula, meaning state lawmakers do not have to vote on the rate in order to receive an increase.
Finney is working for the bill this session because this year, for the first time in at least a decade, reimbursement rates decreased from the previous year. The bill could save taxpayers $90,100 next year and $136,600 annually in the future.
“We always should cut frivolous spending and invest in job creation and education,” Finney said. “We should be working to find more ways to put money back in the pockets of Tennesseans, not state lawmakers.”