Shorter session means lower costs

And just in time, after the price tag on the longest session ever, in 1997, came in at a record $15.5 million.

Part of the added expenses two years ago came with the newly expanded Legislature Building and more permanent employees that accompanied it.

This year, thanks largely to the voter-mandated 120-day deadline, Legislative Counsel Bureau officials estimate the cost at under $13 million - a savings of up to $2.5 million to taxpayers.

LCB Director Lorne Malkiewich said the LCB staffs about 200 year-round employees and adds another 60 to 70 for legislative sessions, including beefed-up security, janitors and other needs when hundreds of people crowd into the building on a daily basis.

And when lawmakers are out of session, there are fewer costs such as legislative salaries.

And even when they're in session, those $130-a-day salaries run out after 60 days while the $80-a-day per diem for meals and other expenses is paid until final adjournment.

This year's session also brought procedural deadlines for the first time, notably deadlines on introducing bills, passing bills out of committee and passing them out of the Senate and Assembly.

That had an effect on what traditionally is a high-cost element of any legislative session: overtime pay for LCB attorneys and others involved in sometimes-24-hours-a-day bill drafting.

Malkiewich said he was surprised to see overtime costs plummet.

"Some periods after deadlines had uncharacteristically low workloads. We had some bill drafters actually on 40-hour workweeks in late April," he said. "That's unheard of."

So with what used to be nearly 170-day sessions now capped at 120 days, the savings in time as well as money is apparent, Malkiewich said.

Session lengths:

-1997: 169 days

-1995: 169 days

-1993: 166 days

-1991: 161 days

-1989: 167 days

-1987: 151 days

-1985: 135 days

-1983: 126 days

-1981: 137 days

-1979: 134 days

-1977: 113 days

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