HARRISBURG — While state legislators and Gov. Tom Wolf fought over the budget, the legislators spent a lot of time at the capitol, which costs money.

Some lawmakers are proposing changes for how they receive reimbursements for those overnight stays, a measure they say can save the state money and increase accountability.

In addition to salaries, legislators receive mileage reimbursements and per diems that cover food and lodging during overnight stays. The rates are set by the Internal Revenue Service.

A per diem is a payment of $159 per day that legislators can receive to cover hotel and food expenses for days that they spend in the capitol or anywhere more than 50 miles from their district. The base salary for lawmakers in Pennsylvania is $85,338 per year.

The budget impasse has meant the House and Senate have spent more days than usual in session recently. The House was in session on 111 days in 2015, after only being in session for 69 days during 2014.

The House and Senate combined billed about $2.4 million in per diems last year.

The lawmakers are not required to submit receipts for per diems, meaning there is no documentation of how the money was spent.

The per diem program has been described as irresponsible by those who say it allows legislators to rack up unnecessary bills or even pocket some leftover money.

That's why a group of senators are supporting a bill to reform that system.

Senate Bill 1117, introduced in February by state Sen. James Brewster, D-45th, would prohibit per diem payments.

A similar bill was proposed in the house by Rep. Dan Truitt, R-156th, in January 2015 and was referred to the state government committee.

The senate bill states: “Only actual expenses shall be reimbursable to an individual member upon the receipt of documentation of the expense.”

State Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, is a co-sponsor of the bill. He notes he has never taken a per diem during his time in office.

“It's just my personal opinion that members should do actual expenses. Just turn in your expenses and get paid back,” Vogel said.

Vogel said he submits receipts for lodging and meals when he spends time in Harrisburg. By being mindful how much money they spend on expenses, legislators can save the government money, he said.

Neither systems — the per diem pay or the receipt requirement — asks officials to cover costs out of pocket.

“It's basically a different accounting system. They get compensated for doing different things in different ways,” Vogel said.

Brewster, whose district includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, also opts not to take per diems.

“I do not take per diem payments or lease a state vehicle because legislators must be fiscally responsible and accountable,” he wrote in a recent newsletter.

In the House, some of the representatives for Western Pennsylvania take the highest amounts in per diems each year. In 2015, Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-10th, received $28,545 in per diems, one of the highest totals for the House.

State Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th, received $25,034, the highest total of any house Republican.

Ellis said the state started using per diems because officials believed it would save money in administrative and accounting costs.

The job of current lawmakers will be to evaluate which system would be the most cost effective, he said.

“I will vote for whichever way saves taxpayers' dollars,” he said.

State Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th, like Vogel and Brewster, opts to submit receipts for expenses rather than take per diem payments.

Some members can justify the expenses, but Marshall said he believes there is money to be saved by submitting actual expenses.

“I think it is more than $50 a day in savings based on what things cost. It's basically room and board,” he said.

In light of recent turnover of lawmakers, taking actual expenses could become a rule or a more common practice in the future, Marshall said.

“I think with the number of new people that have come in since 2006 it is more likely that that concept could become a rule,” he said.

The bill was referred to the state Senate Government Committee on Feb. 3.

Similar bills reforming or eliminating per diem payments have been proposed in recent years, but none have made it out of committee, Vogel said.

Per Diem Expenses

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Here are the per diem expenses for 2015 that were paid to the seven House members and three Senate members who represent parts of Butler County.

HouseRep. Brian Ellis, R-11th — $25,034Rep. Jaret Gibbons, D-10th — $28,545Rep. R. Lee James, R-64th — $19,302Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th — $0Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th — $13,122Rep. Tedd Nesbit, R-8th — $19,509Rep. Jeffrey Pyle, R-60th — $21,070

SenateSen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st — $15,384Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th — $0Sen. Donald White, R-41st — $8,193