70th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1999 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 2880

                        Senate Bill 1106

Sponsored by Senator METSGER


                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Permits member of Legislative Assembly to elect to waive salary
and assign salary to state or charitable organization.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to legislator compensation; amending ORS 171.072.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 171.072 is amended to read:
  171.072. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of
this section, a member of the Legislative Assembly shall receive
for services a salary the greater of:
  (a) One step below the maximum of Salary Range 1 in the
Management Service Compensation Plan; or
  (b) Seventeen percent of the salary of a Circuit Court Judge.
  (2) The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives each shall receive for services, as additional
salary, an amount equal to the sum allowed each of them as a
member under subsection (1) of this section.
  (3) A member of the Legislative Assembly shall receive, as an
allowance for expenses not otherwise provided for, a per diem
determined as provided in subsection (9) of this section for each
day within the period that the Legislative Assembly is in
session, to be paid weekly.
  (4) A member of the Legislative Assembly shall receive, as an
allowance for expenses incurred in the performance of official
duties during periods when the legislature is not in session,
$400 for each calendar month or part thereof during those
periods, to be paid monthly, and subject to approval of the
President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of
Representatives, mileage expenses and a per diem determined as
provided in subsection (9) of this section for each day a member
is engaged in the business of legislative interim and statutory
committees, including advisory committees and subcommittees
thereof, and task forces and for each day a member serves on
interstate bodies, advisory committees and other entities on
which the member serves ex officio, whether or not the entity is
a legislative one.
  (5) In addition to the mileage and per diem expense payments
provided by this section, a member of the Legislative Assembly
may receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses,
subject to approval by the President of the Senate or Speaker of

the House of Representatives, for legislative business outside of
the state.
  (6) The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of
Representatives may delegate to the chairpersons of interim and
statutory committees and task forces the approval authority
granted to them by subsection (4) of this section, with respect
to expenses incurred in attending any meeting of a particular
committee or task force.
  (7) Amounts received under subsections (3) to (5) of this
section are excluded from gross income and expenditures thereof
are excluded in computing deductions for purposes of ORS chapter
316. If there is attached to the personal income return a
schedule of all ordinary and necessary business expenses paid
during the tax year as a member of the Legislative Assembly, a
deduction may be claimed on the return for legislative expenses
paid in excess of the amounts received under subsections (3) to
(5) of this section. However, on and after July 20, 1987,
expenses of members of the Legislative Assembly that are
reimbursed by the state for actual expenses for meals and lodging
associated with state travel for the same period during which a
legislator receives per diem is subject to state income tax.
  (8) For periods when the Legislative Assembly is not in
session, the Legislative Administration Committee shall provide
for a telephone and an expense allowance for members of the
Legislative Assembly that is in addition to the amount allowed
under subsection (4) of this section. In determining the amount
of allowance for members, the committee shall consider the
geographic area of the member's district. The additional
allowance shall reflect travel expenses necessary to communicate
in districts of varying sizes.
  (9) The per diem allowance referred to in subsections (3) and
(4) of this section shall be the amount fixed for per diem
allowance that is authorized by the United States Internal
Revenue Service to be excluded from gross income without
itemization.
   { +  (10)(a) Notwithstanding subsection (1) or (2) of this
section, a member of the Legislative Assembly may elect to assign
the member's salary, or a portion thereof, to an entity or fund
that is:
  (A) A charitable organization described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code; or
  (B) This state or an agency of this state, a program
administered by a state or a fund within the State Treasury.
  (b) Amounts paid under this subsection are excludable from the
taxable income of the member making the election under this
subsection for purposes of the personal income tax imposed under
ORS chapter 316. + }
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