Opinion ID: 1826701
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: reimbursement policy

Text: The Nebraska Constitution is not a grant, but, rather, is a restriction on legislative power, and the Legislature is free to act on any subject not inhibited by the Constitution. Lenstrom v. Thone, 209 Neb. 783, 311 N.W.2d 884 (1981). Pursuant to article III, § 7, and § 50-202, the Legislature was authorized to adopt a policy which would reimburse the members of the Legislature for actual expenses they paid or incurred while performing their duties. Plaintiff contends that the reimbursement policy, which is based on a per diem allowance, is prohibited by article III, § 7, because it permits payment without regard to expenses actually paid or incurred by the legislator receiving reimbursement. In State ex rel. Spire v. Public Emp. Ret. Bd., 226 Neb. 176, 181, 410 N.W.2d 463, 466 (1987), this court noted that under Beermann, a legislator could only receive $400 per month by way of salary and be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in the performance of the legislator's official duties. In view of the fact that the moneys to be reimbursed to the legislator in the performance of official duties for expenses incurred were to be equal to and not in excess of actual moneys paid or incurred by the legislator for and on behalf of the State, the legislator would not be receiving more than $400 per month as salary, plus the return of moneys actually expended on behalf of the State of Nebraska in the performance of official duties. The reimbursement policy is consistent with the Beermann and Public Emp. Ret. Bd. cases. Under the policy, legislators must vouch on an expense reimbursement form that the amounts they are claiming have been paid or incurred by them and do not exceed the actual expenses they incurred. In order to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the Legislature, all legislators must complete a standardized reimbursement form. The legislator writes in the number of legislative days attended during the month and the rate at which compensation is allowed. The maximum amount of reimbursement permitted is calculated by multiplying the number of days the member attended a legislative session times the rate of reimbursement as established by the reimbursement policy. Although the policy employs a per diem system to calculate an individual legislator's maximum reimbursement amount, the per diem is not an automatic payment. It operates as a ceiling on the amount of expenditures which are reimbursable. While the legislators may not be required to specifically enumerate on the form each expense incurred, they are required to maintain records of their expenses to enable verification during auditing. Two audits conducted in 1989, each auditing 12 randomly selected senators, verified that all the expenses paid or incurred by the senators were equal to or greater than the payments received under the reimbursement policy. Plaintiff provides no evidence that legislators are claiming or receiving more money than necessary to satisfy their expenses in their capacity as legislators. The only evidence produced by plaintiff is an affidavit from Sen. Elroy M. Hefner in which the senator stated that he received and returned $1,184.20 in 1985 because it was in excess of his expenses. The current reimbursement policy was instituted in August 1988. The policy in place in 1985 is not at issue in this action and is irrelevant to the determination of the validity of the current policy.