SETH EFFRON: An honest wage or tax dodge for N.C. legislators?

EDITOR'S NOTE: This column is by Seth Effron, opinion editor for Capitol Broadcasting Company.

There’s been some good tax-time news for most North Carolina state legislators. The prolonged legislative session – which hasn’t been in recess since Jan. 13, 2021 – has meant all but a handful of these legislators received tens of thousands of dollars tax free.

While rank-and-file legislators’ “salary” is $13,951 by state law, they also collect a $104-a-day expense allowance when the legislature is in session; a monthly $559 expense allowance along with a travel reimbursement for a weekly trip to and from Raleigh.

That mileage allowance alone, based on the reimbursement rate, for one legislator traveling to Raleigh from the far western reaches of the state is around $36,600 for the 52 weeks the legislature was in session last year.

For many rank-and-file legislators the true income for the session exceeded $60,000 – with as much as 80% tax-free -- no questions asked -- because it is technically reimbursement for expenses. Many legislators don’t spend a penny of that money for their expenses. State campaign finance laws let them use money donated to their legislative political campaigns to pay for their in-session travel, housing, food, childcare and even clothing.

Until recently, legislators could even use state and campaign funds to pay rent for housing they, or companies they controlled, owned.

But not every legislator qualified for this tax-free bonanza. Legislators – regardless of political affiliation -- who live within a certain radius of Raleigh (essentially the Triangle area) have been reminded in recent days that federal and state law doesn’t grant them the same benefit.

Not only do they pay taxes on their legislative salary – they also pay taxes on the per-diem and monthly expense allowance. They are not permitted to get ANY reimbursement for travel.

So, even though state law says the state Senate majority and minority leaders get the same pay, monthly expenses and per diem – Senate Majority Leader Kathy Harrington from Gaston County collects $67,650 and 75% of it is tax free. Meanwhile Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue of Raleigh pays taxes on all of the $61,650 he collects – and doesn’t get a dime for any commuting.

Salary and reimbursement rates for Senate leader Phil Berger have him collecting more than $95,000 – about 60% of it tax free last year while House Speaker Tim Moore's pay and reimbursement rates amount to around $97,000 – also about 60% tax free.

Some things to know about legislative salary and expense payments. Legislators receive per-diem seven days a week even though the General Assembly usually has only a perfunctory session on Monday evenings and rarely meets on Fridays.

Not only that, but at a majority of the sessions of the House and Senate last year there was no recorded business. In the state House of Representatives there wasn’t a single roll call vote of its members recorded at 55% of the 167 days it held floor sessions. The Senate has a slightly better record – with recorded votes at 47% of the 170 sessions it met.

All that having been said, several questions remain that legislative leaders need to face:

The tight grip of a few legislative leaders who do the bulk of the General Assembly work behind closed doors means the majority of legislators – regardless of party – have little to do and that is reflected in the lack of regular activity in the House and Senate sessions. Is that the way a representative legislative branch of government should operate?

Is it worth the cost of a perpetual legislative session to prevent the governor from making interim appointments? There are better than two-dozen gubernatorial appointments that have been pending legislative action for months.

Most significantly, if the salary for legislators isn’t adequate – and there are few who’d rationally argue that a $13,950 salary matches the responsibilities and commitment – why not just face the reality and change it? Manipulating the length of the legislative session and other tricks to boost legislators’ compensation is a dodge and dishonest.

No one would deny an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. But maybe that’s a challenge some legislators want to duck.