The Maine State House is seen at sunrise on March 16. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press, file

Maine’s 10 highest-ranking legislators collectively received more than $155,000 in reimbursements for food, lodging and travel during the last legislative session.

More than a third of that total, or about $64,500, went to two lawmakers with long commutes: Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, and House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, who received $35,540 and $28,000, respectively. Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, received only $17,717 in reimbursements, despite having the second-longest drive to Augusta after Jackson.

As lawmakers return to the State House for the first full week of a new session, an analysis of expense reports from the session that ended in July shows the cost of doing the public’s business goes well beyond their annual salaries.

Maine has a part-time legislature, so most lawmakers commute from all corners of the state to Augusta to conduct the people’s business, and taxpayers cover their costs.

Legislative leaders from both parties spend more time than most in the state capital both during and between sessions. Some, including Jackson, maintain second homes there. But rank-and-file lawmakers get reimbursed for their expenses, too.

Maine’s 186 lawmakers received a combined $1.7 million in reimbursements during their first legislative session, which ended in July, according state officials.

During legislative sessions, lawmakers have the option of receiving a $150-a-day meals and lodging allowance to defray hotel or apartment costs, or getting reimbursed for mileage – either the federal rate or 55 cents per mile, whichever is less – for commuting during the day. Rank-and-file lawmakers receive the same session allowances and leadership, but any expenses they incur outside the sessions must be authorized by presiding officers and require detailed receipts.

Meals, lodging and mileage are not the only expenses covered by taxpayers. Other legislator travel also is paid for, although out-of-state travel by lawmakers must be always be approved by a presiding officer.

Eight Democrats recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss gun safety legislation during a meeting hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris. The costs associated with that trip were not available in time to be included in this story.

In addition to the detailed expense reports filed by the legislative leaders, the Press Herald obtained all out-of-state travel expense reports through August.

Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland, and Rep. Lori Gramlich, D-Old Orchard Beach, traveled to Hawaii in December 2022 for a Council of State Governments Conference. They were reimbursed a total of $4,650. The organization’s annual conference draws state-level leaders from around the country to share ideas and discuss solutions to policy issues facing the states.

Rep. Christopher Kessler, D-South Portland, traveled to Seattle in April for a housing conference, receiving a $2,240 reimbursement, while Sen. Marianne Moore, R-Calais, Rep. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, and Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, also attended separate conferences in Washington, D.C. Moore and Millett were reimbursed $425 and $400, respectively, while Rielly received $2,188.

Lawmakers also earn salaries, which are set to go up later this year.

Rank-and-file lawmakers earn $27,920 during their two-year terms of office (about $16,250 for the first regular session and $11,670 for the second). Lawmakers voted last year to increase those salaries to $45,000 for the two-year terms ($25,000 for the first session and $20,000 for the second) for the next Legislature.

The presiding officers in each chamber – the Senate president and House speaker – earn 50% more than rank-and-file lawmakers, or about $41,880 last year. The majority and minority leaders in each chamber receive 25% more, or $34,900 last year, and assistant majority and minority leaders earned 12.5% more, or $31,410 last year.

Legislative expenses became a political pressure point last year when Republicans singled out Jackson, the Legislature’s top Democrat.

Among leadership, Jackson has the longest commute, with his Allagash home being about 285 miles from the State House. He maintains a second home in Augusta, where he stays on weekdays during the legislative session. He received about $10,265 in mileage for commuting to Augusta during the session and another $17,300 for overnight stays.

Republicans blasted Jackson over the summer for his high expense reimbursements, but the Senate president justified those costs as necessary to adequately represent his remote rural district while also presiding over the entire Senate.

“Given how far away Aroostook County is from state government, I feel strongly that the people I represent deserve someone who will show up for the job that they were elected to do and fight tooth and nail to make sure they don’t get left behind,” Jackson said in the fall in response to an ethics complaint that was ultimately dismissed.

“I prefer to return home weekly unless there is a legislative commitment that requires my presence in Augusta,” he continued. “This means I try to be home every weekend during the legislative session and spend a greater deal of time in Allagash once the Legislature has adjourned. However, my duties of Senate President often require my presence in the State House during the interim period between sessions.”

Jackson’s reimbursements also include about $2,065 for out-of-state travel, which last year covered a trip to Washington, D.C., in the summer to participate in a child care panel at the White House and a December trip to New York City for a National Conference of State Legislatures symposium.

Faulkingham, meanwhile, received $28,070 in reimbursements over the last year, getting about $16,600 in mileage for his roughly 130-mile commute. Most of the remaining expenses – nearly $10,000 – covered meals and lodging during the session.

“It hasn’t been easy living so far from Augusta, while serving in leadership, and the miles on my odometer reflect that,” Faulkingham said. “But even if I can get home in just enough time to kiss my kids goodnight before bed and see my wife for a few minutes, it’s worth it to me to make the trip home.”

Stewart, who lives nearly twice as far from the State House, said he also tries to spend as little time away from home as possible. He received only $17,717 in reimbursements, despite living about 235 miles from the capital.

“The realities of representing the County in Augusta and serving in leadership are that it’s not cheap to do so,” Stewart said. “But I still try to be as diligent as possible, balancing the need to do my job far away from where I live while remaining aware of where this money is coming from.”

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, had the fourth-highest expense reimbursements, receiving $16,819. Of that, more than $7,700 was for mileage and nearly $6,600 for food during the session.

Trailing Talbot Ross are: House Majority Leader Mo Terry, D-Gorham, ($12,250); Assistant Senate Minority Leader Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield, ($10,770); Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, ($9,145); Assistant Senate Majority Leader Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, ($9,100); Assistant House Majority Leader Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, ($8,755); and Assistant House Minority Leader Amy Arata, R-New Gloucester, ($8,560).

Keim’s total includes $920 in reimbursements for a Women in Government Conference in Orlando, Florida. That was the net cost after Keim received a $1,000 scholarship to attend the conference.

And Cloutier’s expenses included $519 for a couch and rug for her office.

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