SACRAMENTO, CA - FEBRUARY 17: California Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg sits at his desk during a session of the California State Senate February 17, 2009 in Sacramento, California. The California legislature is preaparing for a long night as they work to hammer out a State budget to avoid thousands of layoffs of State workers and briging state funded construction projects to a halt. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)(credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO (AP) — California taxpayers will no longer pay for the meals of state senators.
The Senate Rules Committee voted Tuesday to end free meals for senators when sessions run long into the lunch or dinner hour.
The Los Angeles Times says $111,316 in taxpayer funds has been spent this year to feed state senators.
National Tax Limitation Committee chief Lew Uhler had criticized the senate meals tradition as double dipping because senators already get a tax free $143 per day for meal and lodging expenses while they are in Sacramento.
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who chairs the Senate Rules Committee, says members of the upper house will be billed $2,000 a year to cover meal expenses when sessions run long.
