The commission tasked with setting salaries of elected officials voted not to recommend any changes to legislative per diem rates and rules Monday after hearing from the leaders of the Arkansas House and Senate.
Meanwhile, though no formal vote was taken on legislator salary, five of seven commissioners expressed support of raising lawmaker pay to $25,000 for most members.
On per diem, the Independent Citizens Commission earlier this month had floated a preliminary proposal that called for changes to the current setup in which lawmakers can receive the full daily amount for attending a committee meeting even if they don't serve on the panel.
The seven-member committee at its last meeting suggested allowing the full amount only for members who serve on the committee. Freshman members who aren't on the committee could receive half per diem by attending, while all others would not get one.
On Monday, Senate President Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, and House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, raised concerns about changes and the panel later voted to alter its previous, preliminary proposal and instead not call for any shift in current per diem policy.
The Citizens Commission on Monday also voted to recommend that legislators not change their office expense rules except to disallow direct or indirect payments to immediate family members and to eliminate home office expenses.
The panel also discussed how it will set legislator pay but didn't vote on one amount. Several commissioners seemed to be in agreement, however, with Commissioner Stephen Tipton's suggestion of a $25,000 annual salary for most legislators and a $30,000 amount for the leaders of the two chambers. That compares with the current rate of $15,869 for most legislators and $17,771 for the House speaker and Senate president.
Commissioners Mitch Berry, Stuart Hill, Barbara Graves and Brenda James all said during or after Monday's meeting that they supported Tipton's recommendation, at least for the time being.
"I think we're gelling together," Graves said.
Commission chairman Larry Ross had previously suggested salaries of $19,050 and $21,325, while vice chairman Chuck Banks recommended more than doubling the current salaries.
The change to the per diem recommendation came after Dismang told the commission that some lawmakers need to attend meetings about issues that affect their constituents even if they aren't on the panel. And he noted that there have been "quite a few instances" in which committee chairmen denied per diem for lawmakers not on a committee "who signed in but did not participate."
"We are taking steps to try and make sure that the per diem process is not abused," Dismang said. "But at the same time, we want to create an avenue where our members can be engaged when they need to be engaged in discussions."
Gillam said the previously proposed changes might also disproportionately hurt legislators who have to travel farther distances, such as from some of the state's far corners or more rural areas.
"One of the last things we want to do is disenfranchise rural representation for the state of Arkansas," he said. "… We don't want to send a signal to them that we don't want them here and their constituents don't matter."
Dismang, who said he'd be "hesitant" to see any changes to the per diem rates, noted that the House and Senate have already shifted this session to an official five-day work week. Previously, legislators could have claimed per diem during a session all seven days.
He also dismissed a concern from one commissioner about whether legislators should get per diem during a session on days where the House and Senate don't convene. Commissioner Mitch Berry said there may be a "perception of possible abuse" on days like that.
"There couldn't be anything farther from the truth in reality," Dismang said. "We are working very, very much, even on the days off, to try and prepare and get ready for the session."
The Citizens Commission is set to meet each day this week before making its final salary recommendations next Monday. The members are set to consider salaries of constitutional officers Monday with the current officeholders invited to address the panel Tuesday or Wednesday.
See Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.