Van Tran and other legislators caught ripping us off

Van Tran’s house, in West Sacramento

The O.C. Register’s Brian Joseph has caught a number of California state legislators, including local Assemblymen Van Tran, ripping off taxpayers.

“State law says legislators legally reside wherever they’re registered to vote, which in Tran’s case is 418 miles south, at his parents’ house in Westminster. The law also says that if legislators live far away, they’re entitled to a daily, tax-free allowance when they work at the Capitol,” according to the O.C. Register.

What this means is that Tran and the other legislators live up north, in Sacramento suburbs, but are paid a per diem as if they were traveling daily back to Southern California.  The money they get paid is tax free.

Click here to read the entire article by Brian Joseph.  These politicians are shameless liars!

Other names on the list included State Senator Tom Harman; former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez; and former Assemblyman John Campbell – a very rich guy who took our money anyway.

The article also went after Assemblyman Jose Solorio, but he does live in town as his wife teaches at a Santa Ana public school.

To what degree are these jerks ripping us off?

Many California lawmakers were eligible for more than 200 days of per diem in 2009 and many netted more than $37,000 in tax-free money last year, when the per diem was as high as $173 per day. All told, the state spent more than $4 million on legislative per diem in 2009. And that’s on top of state lawmaker’s annual salaries, which were cut from $116,208 annually to $95,291 in December.

And now Tran wants us to send him to Congress!  No way Tran!  Time for you to exit politics.  If you live in the 47th Congressional District and happen to be a Republican, please vote for Tran’s opponent, businessman and former U.S. Marine Quang Pham.

We need to join GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner in backing the proposed ballot measure to change our state legislature from full time to part time!  Tea party!


About Art Pedroza