NASHVILLE (AP) — Hotel allowances for Tennessee lawmakers would rise under a bill making its way through the Legislature.
The House State Government Committee approved the bill on a voice vote Monday.
News media report lawmakers said the amended bill would increase the daily living allowance by $30 to $60 for legislative business days. Lawmakers who live outside a 50-mile radius are eligible for $170 for hotel reimbursements. The bill would use an average of hotel prices in Nashville's central business district instead.
Democratic Rep. Darren Jernigan of Nashville questioned the increase. But House Republican Caucus Chairman Ryan Williams of Cookeville, who sponsored the bill, said the change wouldn't be a raise but a reimbursement. Replied Jernigan: "That would be one way of looking at it."