Four special legislative sessions over the past year cost Texas taxpayers $4.6 million, according to a newspaper report. Republican Gov. Rick Perry called three sessions on congressional redistricting and one on school finance, and each cost about $1.2 million, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported today. The total includes legal bills, travel expenses, per diem payments to lawmakers and office expenses. While the costs are lower than lawmakers' initial estimates, critics called the 86 extra days a waste of money.
"The costs of failed leadership and the fact that the Legislature worked in the interests of a political party instead of the taxpayers, the voters and the schoolchildren of Texas cannot be measured in dollars and cents," said Democratic consultant Ed Martin, who worked on redistricting and school finance.
The Legislature meets regularly every two years for 140 days. The governor can call special sessions, which can last up to 30 days. The legislators receive $125 per day and are entitled to a trip home each week. The sessions sparked significant political controversy, especially the three regarding congressional redistricting. Democrats fled the state twice in an effort to stop redistricting, designed to add Republicans to the congressional delegation.
The fourth session ended in failure last month when lawmakers could not agree on a new system of public school finance.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2616568