Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s reported practices of collecting a “per diem” allowance for days spent at her private home and charging the state for her family’s travel expenses do not appear to be shared by other female governors with children.
But the 49th State’s reimbursement practices may be different from other states.
Palin, John McCain’s running mate, billed the state of Alaska for 312 nights spent at home during her first 19 months as governor, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The article said she received close to $17,000 in charges for daily expenses.
The Post also reported that Palin’s daughters and husband charged Alaska $43,490 in travel expenses.
Palin’s situation is unique in that Alaska seems to have a more relaxed policy governing such reimbursements. The governor lives much of the year at her home in Wasilla, contributing to expenses stemming from travel between her home and the state capital of Juneau nearly 600 miles away. Palin also has five children, all of whom are under 20 years old.
But Barack Obama’s spokesman said about the per-diem expenses: “It sounds to me like it amounts to taxpayers paying money for her to spend the night at her own house.
“For all the talk about her not being from Washington, boy she would sure fit in there,” Bill Burton told FOX News.
Although Palin’s spokeswoman told the Post that her state expenses are not unusual, other states with moms in the governor’s mansion do not show similar practices.
In Washington state, Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, never bills the state for her children’s travel and does not usually take a per diem allowance, spokeswoman Karina Shagren said.
She said Washington does not permit governors to collect such an allowance at home, and that “it is very rare” for Gregoire to file for any reimbursement while on state business.
Shagren said the governor’s two daughters, who are now in their 20s, do not typically travel with her, but that when Gregoire was attorney general, “If her children traveled with her, she would pay for their tickets.”
She said Gregoire’s husband Mike is allowed to collect reimbursements while traveling on official business.
Likewise, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, is not permitted to charge the state a per diem while at her private home.
In an e-mail to FOXNews.com, Rell’s office said the governor covers her own travel expenses “in many instances” and that “Governor Rell has never asked for expenses for her husband or other family members.”
Rell is married with two children.
Patti Higgins, chairwoman of the Alaska Democratic Party, told FOXNews.com that the report in the Post was surprising.
“I think it’s the first time a state official has charged a per diem for living at home,” she said. “It’s sort of contrary to her normal message, where she fired the chef at the [governor's mansion] … in order to save the state money.”
Palin and the McCain campaign have touted the first-term Alaska governor’s record of fighting against wasteful spending.
As Higgins noted, Palin fired the governor’s chef when she was elected and even sold the governor’s jet, opting to drive herself around Alaska instead.
In doing so, Palin saves the state money on airfare.
According to the article in the Post, Palin’s predecessor, Frank Murkowski, spent far more on travel expenses than she has.
The article said Murkowski, with his private jet, spent $463,000 on airfare in 2006, compared with the $93,000 spent by Palin in 2007.
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