OLYMPIA -- A growing number of legislators say they will refuse the $90 per day they can receive for food and lodging during all or part of the special session.

Twenty-one senators, out of the total of 49, have notified the secretary of the Senate they won't be accepting their per diem. In the House of Representatives, 26 members have said they'll turn it down for the full session and 23 are refusing it for one or more days.

That lowers the daily cost of the special session from $18,300 to at least $14,000. Mondays are going to be the cheapest day, about $12,700, because so many reps are refusing the per diem that day.

To be fair to legislators, their per diem is less than what state workers travelling to Olympia would receive to stay there. The state employees' per diem is base on a federal formula that rates different areas based on cost of living, and amounts to $150 per day.

(That's about the same a state worker from Olympia would get for a trip to Spokane. But the rest of the East Side is a better deal, with a maximum per day of $116.)

Full list for the two chambers is inside the blog. Click here to see it. 

Senators refusing the per diem:
Randi Becker, R-Eatonville
Don Benton, R-Vancouver
Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood
Tracey Eide, D-Seattle
Randy Gordon, D-Bellevue
Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla
Janea Holmquist, R-Moses Lake
Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside
Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup
Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor
Curtis King, R-Yakima
Chris Marr, D-Spokane
Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley
Bob Morton, R-Kettle Falls
Linda Parlette, R-Wenatchee
Debbie Regala,D-Tacoma
Pam Roach, R-Auburn
Phil Rockefeller, D-Bainbridge Island
Paull Shin, D-Mukilteo
Val Stevens, R-Arlington
Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield

House members declining the per diem for the session:
Gary Alexander, R-Olympia
Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle
Frank Chopp, D-Seattle
Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup
Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis
John Driscoll, D-Spokane
Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish
Fred Finn, D-Thurston County
Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton
Jaime Herrera, R-Camas
Sam Hunt, D-Olympia
Jim Jacks, D-Vancouver
Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park
Marcie Maxwell, D-Renton
Jim McCune, R-Graham
Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup
Al O'Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace
Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines
Kevin Parker, R-Spokane
Tim Probst, D-Vancouver
Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake
Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island
Larry Seaquist,D-Gig Harbor
Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley
Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim
Brendan Williams, D-Olympia

House members who are refusing per diems on certain days of the special session, and the days they've specified not to take it:
Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, Monday
Sherry Appleton, R-Poulsbo, Thursday and Saturday
Tom Campbell, R-Roy, Thursday
Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, Thursday and any day at home
Cary Condotta, R-East Wenatchee, Monday
Larry Crouse,R-Spokane Valley, Monday
Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, Thursday and Saturday
Deborah Eddy, D-Kirkland,, only take it for days worked
Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Ellum, Monday
Norm Johnson, R-Yakima, Monday
Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle, all days except Monday
Brad Klippert,R-Kennewick,  Monday
Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, Monday
Terry Nealy, R-Dayton, Monday
Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island, Thursday and Saturday
Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, Monday
Skip Priest, R-Federal Way, Monday
Charles Ross, R-Naches, Monday
Shelly Short, R-Addy, Monday
Norma Smith, R-Clinton, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
David Taylor, R-Moxee, Monday
Maureen Walsh, R-College Place, Monday, Tuesday

Names provide by the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate.

 

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