Jindal freezes per diem pay
Gov. Bobby Jindal issued an executive order Friday to freeze the pay that certain members of state boards and commissions receive for attending meetings.
The governor’s action followed a legislative auditor’s report that found the number of boards, commissions and similar entities grew 45 percent in Louisiana over the last 20 years.
There now are 492 government-created entities in the state with per diem payments — the money members receive for going to meetings — expected to consume $1.48 million this year.
Other expenses include $2.72 million for board member salaries and $2.29 million on board member travel.
Jindal’s order exempts elected members authorized by law to receive a per diem.
“Continuing to pay per diem causes a drain on the state general fund and ... the termination of per diem expenditures is necessary to decrease the drain on the state general funds,” the governor wrote in the order.
It took the Governor’s Office hours Friday to detail which boards and commissions would be impacted.
Shannon Bates, the governor’s spokeswoman, said the executive order applies to
the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority,
the Louisiana Tax Commission, the Louisiana Public Defender Board, the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, the Public Service Commission, the Pardon Board, the Committee on Parole, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the Board of Regents, the LSU Board of Supervisors, the Southern University Board of Supervisors and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, among others.
Bates said the per diem freeze is expected to save $50,000.