JUNEAU -- Legislators couldn't finish their work in the 90-day regular session, the limit under the law, nor did continuing for an extra week help. Then Gov. Bill Walker called them back into special session and told them to finish their work, but it took a second special session to pass a budget, their only constitutional duty, and finally adjourn this week.
For Alaskans, that meant uncertainty. But for legislators, all that extra time meant an extra quarter of a million dollars in per diem income, the daily payments that are partly intended to cover their costs but which are largely a boost to their pay.
Per diem is on top of each legislator's $50,400 annual salary, and this year it gave an average pay boost of $4,600 to each legislator due to the lengthy session.
The numbers might have been higher, but legislative leaders made the per diem in the special session voluntary, not automatic as it is in the regular session.
"It's up to each member whether they claim it or they don't clam it," said House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski.
"Tammie (Wilson) is on the Finance committee, which has been meeting in Anchorage and she has been traveling to Anchorage and she has costs and she should claim it, I think," Chenault said.
Wilson, from North Pole, did, but the $7,600 she received for the extra time was far less then some.
The top earner was Sen. Donny Olson, D-Golovin, who had lengthy and costly travel from his Northwest Alaska hometown. He was paid about $13,000 extra.
The second highest earner was Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Big Lake. He had one of the shortest commutes to the Anchorage Legislative Information Office where much of the extra work was done, but as co-chair of the House Finance Committee, he played a key role in this year's tough budget-cutting decisions. He was paid $10,000 for his extra time.
In the Senate, the biggest earner from the Anchorage area was Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, who claimed about $9,000 for the extended sessions.
House members received $4,400 in per diem on average, while senators averaged $5,200.
During the extra week of the regular session, per diem payments were paid automatically, and Legislative Finance Director Jessica Geary said she doesn't recall anyone returning the money as some have done in the past. But, she added, she has not yet audited the numbers.
During the first special session, legislative leaders clashed with Gov. Walker about taking a 12-day recess early on. They wanted to leave and he wanted them to keep working on the budget.
They took the recess. While they were eligible, most legislators did not claim per diem during the recess. Those who did included Olson, Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, McGuire, and Rep. Scott Kawasaki, D-Fairbanks, who each claimed 11 days of per diem for the 11-day recess. Some legislators continued work during the recess, with some of those among the ones claiming per diem; others worked without claiming it.
During the second special session, held entirely in Anchorage, exactly half the legislators claimed no per diem at all, while two of the most distant legislators, Olson and Rep. Ben Nageak, D-Barrow, each claimed 21 days.
Here's how per diem works for Alaska legislators:
They created it to give themselves extra pay and to cover some of their costs while they are working, typically in Juneau, but this year in Anchorage as well. The amount is set using a federally established cost for short-term travel for various cities, and even for various times of year. For Juneau, while the Legislature was in session, that amount was $223 per day, Geary said.
For the 90-day regular session, that would mean an extra $20,000 for the typical legislator.
But legislators who live in Juneau -- Reps. Cathy Munoz and Sam Kito and Sen. Dennis Egan -- have lower costs than others and have their own houses available to them. They get 75 percent of the standard rate, or $15,000.
But when the Legislature moved to Anchorage, that all changed. First, the summer season's travel costs and Anchorage's costs are higher, and the federal per diem rate there after May 1 is $292 per day.
For Juneau residents, the process reversed. When Munoz, Kito and Egan were in Anchorage, they got the full rate, while those legislators within 50 miles of Anchorage who claimed per diem were paid 75 percent of the regular rate.
Per diem also has tax consequences. The federal government does not tax per diem as income, except when it is paid to someone within 50 miles of their usual place of work. That means that while the Juneau delegation is taxed on their per diem payments while in Juneau, they weren't in Anchorage.
Anchorage-area residents were taxed on any per diem earned there, Geary said.