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!
If the Ca legislator was part time, earning a stipend instead of a salary, then the per diem and auto allowance would make sense.
But they are employees, earning over 100 thousand plus benefits.
I and most California’s pay our housing costs and transportation costs out of our after tax pay checks. It is a slap in the face by the legislator to reward themselves such perks.
I do not blame the 2 local members named or any of the others that are receiving these perks. These perks were set in stone decades ago.
A top down reorganization is needed, and soon, if California is to keep from dissolving into a bloody melt down like the French in the late 18th century.
As always, I never have a problem with how much politicians or any government workers make, as long as they do their jobs well. Again, AS LONG AS THEY DO THEIR JOBS WELL. This is how the private sector works and something we as citizens can learn from.
Lam,
There’s the rub. These guys have ruined our state.
Art, I agree. Sadly, I don’t think anything significant will change anytime soon.
Art, what ever happens to Red Vixen?
The archaic and antiquated 2/3 requirement for state budget passage has put the minority party in power. The majority should debate and decide the issues on behalf of the public. That is what a democratic, representative government is.
#6, The implication of your comment is that all of our problems will be solved so long as the Legislature keeps increasing taxes.I have to disagree. The current arrangement gives the Republicans a lot of power at budget time, which is great.
The rest of the time the Dems happily clog up the various state codes with complete and utter nonsense, including vast unfunded mandates on local governments.
Yeah, whatever happened to RV?
Lam,
Red was threatened by the same Lib OC bloggers who are suing me. I guess she chose discretion over valor.
Robin.
There have been efforts to reduce the approval threshold regarding financial issues from two thirds to 55%. This would be similar to school bonds. Stay tuned.
I recently saw an active Bill in Sacramento but prefer watching the Olympics rather than researching facts tonight.
“…threatened by the same Lib OC bloggers who are suing me”
Art, what is the story behind that, if you don’t mind sharing.
I do not see this as a rip-off at all, rather a shallow attempt by The Register to continue its hate- government reporting and editorializing. Our State Legislators have to live in Sacramento to do their job, and if buying a place makes more economic sense than renting then so be it. It is no different than those we send to Congress finding a place to live in D.C., often by buying a townhome or other kind of home. Stop and think about the logistics of having to work, day in and day out, someplace that is 500 miles from your home. Buying a place there would make sense for most anyone. The issue of whether these Legislators do a good job for us is seperate from this housing issue. The front page sensationalism of the Register is often quite shallow – this one make take the prize for shallowness.
Van Tran may have cheated on his FEC filing.
http://littlesaigoninside.blogspot.com/2010/02/controversial-van-tran.html
In preparing my income taxes this week I noticed a deduction for State Legislator travel expense.
I travel the state to the tune of 1,000 miles a week and three nights on average.
Sure would e nice if I got such a break.
“I noticed a deduction for State Legislator travel expense.”
Ha ha that is funny. For the rest of us the tax code defines “tax home” as were you work and not were you live.
So if I had a job in Sacramento and lived in the OC, I could not take a deduction for travel.
What about the darling of the O.J. Blog, Lou Correa? Does Can Do Lou take the money and tax breaks as well?
I would like to see the per-diem as taxable income if a legislator is originally wealthy. Since we are cutting back so many public services we should cut back on the per-diem where the legislator would have to consider that as taxable income if their household makes 200,000 or more or has over 1m in assets.