In the last post, I estimated the cost of legislating for all of the states that were competing to give Boeing all of the tax breaks was probably millions of dollars. Of course right after I hit send, I stumbled across this piece on how much legislators have claimed for the session (s/r link). Obviously, there are other costs like security, staff time, and keeping the lights on. But the cost is actually less than I would have guessed. So maybe it didn’t reach into the millions and I should probably be more careful about the numbers make up as examples, even when they’re obviously made up.
The tab for last month’s three-day special session to approve tax breaks for Boeing stands at $28,626 and counting, the most recent reports filed by legislators show.
Requests for the $90 per diem that legislators can claim have been processed, with some filling only for a day or two and some not requesting any. Some expense vouchers for travel to and from Olympia by senators might not come in until February
Because legislators can be reimbursed for driving expenses at 56.5 cents a mile, the biggest payments went to Eastern Washington representatives and senators who travel the farthest.
