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Senator’s plan would cut Iowa legislators’ expense allotments
An Iowa Senator is proposing a 50% reduction in the payments members of the Iowa House and Senate get to cover living expenses during the annual legislative session.
In addition to the annual $25,000 base salary for lawmakers, legislators this year are eligible for up to 100 days’ worth of expense money. Republican Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny has introduced a plan to cut that in half, to 50 days. “It is high time that the Iowa legislature examines how it does business,” Bousselot said. “We are asking every other governmental entity and businesses across our state, and families across our state are doing things differently, saving money, and the legislature should take a look at how we do our business.”
There is no official date when the legislature has to conclude its work in current law, and there’s no hard deadline in Bousselot’s bill either. He argues, however, a 50-day limit on expense payments would put pressure on legislators to complete their work earlier. “People work to deadlines,” Bousselot said during a subcommittee hearing on his bill. “The National Institutes of Health says deadlines improve productivity.”
2017 was the last time the legislature adjourned before daily expense payments ended.
Bousselot also argues that his idea is a different way to address concerns that fewer Iowans are willing to run for seats in the legislature because the responsibilities do not match the $25,000 salary. “I believe we could attract candidates who would have more flexibility from their daily lives, because we are part-time legislators,” Bousselot said, “and I believe with technology and productivity improvement, we could get done on time.”
Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, said he doubts Bousselot is making “a serious proposal.” He pointed to Bousselot’s bill from last year that suggested Iowa try to buy part of southern Minnesota. “I’d have to say that everything’s evolved in this place except legislators,” Bisignano said during the subcommittee meeting. “The technology’s improved, but legislators are still legislators and they file some of the most unusual things.”
Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, is chairman of the Senate State Government Committee. He said Republicans and Democrats on the panel will meet privately today to decide whether to vote on Bousselot’s bill — or table it.
“I consider this serious because it leads to a discussion we really need to have,” Rozenboom said.
In January, House Republican Leader Bobby Kaufmann promised to push to raise legislators’ pay, which hasn’t increased in 18 years. Kaufmann said that without action, candidates for House and Senate seats will be retired or wealthy people because a $25,000 base salary is just not enough for a lawmaker with a young family.
