{"id":8244,"date":"2009-10-21T17:14:29","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T23:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=8244"},"modified":"2009-10-21T23:42:27","modified_gmt":"2009-10-22T05:42:27","slug":"senator-accuses-colleagues-of-abusing-per-diem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/10\/senator-accuses-colleagues-of-abusing-per-diem\/","title":{"rendered":"Senator accuses colleagues of abusing per diem"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)<\/p><\/div>\n

During a discussion earlier today about whether lawmakers should voluntarily reduce their per diem as the Legislature addresses a massive budget shortfall, Sen. Richard Martinez<\/a>, D-Espa\u00f1ola, went on a rant about colleagues who he said abuse the system.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t name names, though he threatened to release to the media a list of Democratic and Republican colleagues he said collect per diem checks for interim legislative committee meetings that they barely attend. He made a pointed reference to Sen. Linda Lopez<\/a>, D-Albuquerque and a candidate for lieutenant governor, who was presiding over the Senate at the time of his rant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of members of this body that go to into the interim committees just before lunch, sign the voucher, stay for the free lunch, and then book. You never see them again. \u2026\u00a0 If we want to save money, let\u2019s stop abusing the system,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n

\"Richard

Richard Martinez<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI could name names. I\u2019ve got lists. Believe me, in nine years I\u2019ve collected a list,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cAnd it would be very embarrassing if I let go of that list to the media. Are you listening madam president (referring to Lopez)? Because you\u2019re on several committees with me too!\u201d<\/p>\n

Lopez did not respond.<\/p>\n

Martinez also added that some freshman lawmakers have quickly become \u201creally good\u201d at abusing the system, but again, he didn\u2019t name names.<\/p>\n

Asked by the New Mexico Independent<\/a> to name names following the outburst on the Senate floor, Martinez declined.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the Senate, on a voice vote, tabled the resolution<\/a> from Sen. Mary Kay Papen<\/a>, D-Las Cruces, calling on all lawmakers to voluntarily reduce their per diem reimbursements by at least 10 percent for the remainder of the special session.<\/p>\n

Martinez said he needs the money for expenses including hiring a caretaker for his 94-year-old mother and boarding his dog every time he has to travel to an interim committee meeting in another part of the state.<\/p>\n

Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings<\/a>, D-Roswell, was among those expressing concern about Papen\u2019s proposal. He said some lawmakers might not be able to afford a 10 percent cut.<\/p>\n

Papen countered that the intent was for lawmakers to make a sacrifice along with everyone else. She said it could be 1 percent or 20 percent \u2013 whatever each could afford.<\/p>\n

The debate over pay and per diem<\/h3>\n

Lawmakers currently receive $159 per day in per diem when they\u2019re working. New Mexico is one of a few states where legislators aren\u2019t paid a salary. For years, there\u2019s been a debate about whether lawmakers should be paid (disclosure: I have said they should get a salary<\/a>).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also been a debate about how per diem should be used. Sen. Cisco McSorley<\/a>, D-Albuquerque, has been collecting per diem (from taxpayer dollars)for travel, then also reimbursing his expenses from his campaign account \u2013 a practice that has earned him the criticism of some who accuse him of double dipping.<\/p>\n

McSorley has said, according to the Albuquerque Journal<\/a>, that he \u201chas done nothing wrong and that he doesn\u2019t consider the per diem he receives from the state to be an allowance for lodging, meals and incidental expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is supposed to be trying to make up for what I lost at home\u201d while away from work, the Journal quoted McSorley as saying.<\/p>\n

Sen. Garcia a top per diem collector<\/h3>\n

Anyway\u2026 wondering which lawmakers collect the most per diem from the state? Often at or near the top of the annual list is Sen. Mary Jane Garcia<\/a>, D-Do\u00f1a Ana. I\u2019ve written before that she collected $26,000 in per diem in 2005, more than any other lawmaker that year. And I\u2019ve written about the myriad of lawmakers, other politicians and political watchers who have told me that Garcia has often barely attended the meetings<\/a> she\u2019s been paid to attend.<\/p>\n

Garcia has said she works hard for the per diem she receives.<\/p>\n

Update, 8:<\/strong>40 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lopez released this statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cSen. Martinez\u2019s reference to abusing per diem is unfounded.\u00a0While there may be some of my colleagues who do not stay for the full committee hearing for which they are being paid per diem for, as a part-time, citizen Legislature, some may need to step out of a committee hearing to deal with business, constituent or other types of \u2018fires\u2019 that need to be dealt with.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Independent’s Gwyneth Doland contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: During a discussion today about whether lawmakers should voluntarily reduce their per diem, Sen. Richard Martinez accused some of abusing the system. He didn’t name names but did give a few hints about who he might be referring to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[118,107],"class_list":["post-8244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-economy","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8244\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}