I really wish the title of this post was just a flight of fantasy, but unfortunately it’s harsh reality.  No other state in the U. S. gives this perk to their legislators.  If you get elected to the legislature in California you get a state-issued vehicle (another perk not available in most other states), and a charge card for unlimited use that sticks taxpayers with the bill.  Oh sure, it’s supposed to be “for legislative purposes”, but it doesn’t include a way to check to see if the use is for public business or private travel.  The charge card can also be used for purchases such as snacks and drinks.  So all a California legislator needs to do is pull up to the pump in their free car and swipe the card for a free fill-up, some corn nuts, and a large slurpee for the road, then the bill goes straighht to the taxpayer.  I’m sure there are other perks to make up for it, but Governor Schwartzenegger doesn’t have one of these cards because the Highway Patrol provides transportation for the Governor’s Office.

Free Gas

This whole thing got stated about 50 years ago when gas and cars were cheap and state legislators didn’t get paid much for being elected officials.  But now a California lawmaker has a salary of $116,208 a year plus $170 for daily expenses, and the Assembly Speaker and President Pro Tem get even more at $133,639.  I understand that things cost more than they did 50 years ago and legislators need to make more money.  My problem with this whole gas card thing is just that they don’t have to justify where and why they were required to travel and it’s just treated like free money.  The other day when I told you about “Cheap Gas in Sacramento“, I said you could check the Sites To See in the right hand column of this website for a place to look for cheap gas but your state legislator doesn’t even need to worry about that, just “gas and go”!  When I pull up to the pump and swipe my card I get a bill at the end of the month, so I don’t have to fill out an expense report or justify the dollars to anyone and that’s all I expect from our elected officials, pay it yourself or justify the expense.

Free Gas for Legislators

 Here is a link to a website that lets you just enter your zip code to find out who is your legislator and how to contact them.  I say let them know how you feel about all this free gas and free car stuff!  Get fired up and call somebody!

• Know Your Legislators

I am also adding this link to Sites To See in the right hand column under Community Services as a permenant part of this website so you can come here any time to find information about your legislator.