State Sen. Pat Wiggins has claimed $22,556 in taxpayer-funded daily living expenses normally given to lawmakers when they are working in Sacramento, although she was not at the Capitol any of those days when the Legislature was in session, records show.
The Santa Rosa Democrat claimed 197 per diem payments worth $141.86 each out of a total of 201 payments that she and other legislators were eligible to take so far this year. She was in Sacramento for 38 of the Senate's 120 floor sessions, according to the records.
In all, she received $28,000 in per diem payments.
The money, which is in addition to the senator's annual salary of $95,291, is supposed to help lawmakers with housing costs and other expenses while they are working in Sacramento.
Wiggins and her husband, Guy Conner, own a condominiu
m in mid-town Sacramento. But neighbors last week said they've rarely seen the couple there this year. Records show the senator's last appearance at a Senate floor session was June 3.
Her staff has cited an undisclosed serious medical ailment as the reasons for her prolonged absence from official business. In March her press secretary, David Miller, said she would be working from home and would no longer be in her district or Sacramento offices, except on an as-needed basis.
On Monday he defined Wiggins' current work duties as consulting with staff about bills and constituent concerns. On Tuesday, when asked if Wiggins has been making public appearances or working in the district office, he declined additional comment.
Wiggins has not spoken publicly about her health problems in the past two years. She and Conner did not return a phone message seeking comment.
But a spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, defended Wiggins' accepting per diem despite her absences.
"She's absolutely entitled to a per diem," said Alicia Trost. "It's to maintain a residence in Sacramento, which Senator Wiggins does."
Lawmaker compensation is an increasingly contentious issue given the state's fiscal woes, which have led to furloughs and threats of IOUs.
Voter anger could spill over at the ballot box in November. Proposition 25, for example, would deny lawmakers any pay or per diem reimbursements if a budget is not adopted by the state constitutional deadline of June 15 and not allow them to receive the compensation as back pay once a budget is in place.
Andy Merrifield, a Sonoma State University political science professor, said Wiggins' per diem payments add to the negative impression that people have of the state's legislators.
"It highlights the fact that people aren't doing their jobs," he said.
The two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath Sacramento condo that Wiggins and Conner bought for $349,000 in 2006 is in a gated community called Stanford Park, across the street from Fremont Park, a number of restaurants and about a 15-minute walk from the Capitol.
The blinds were drawn on the windows of the condo last week and leaves littered the back porch. Neighbors said homes in the area are now selling for about $225,000.
One neighbor said she last saw Wiggins in early August.
Lawmakers can claim travel and living expenses if they are present for floor sessions in Sacramento or if they are excused for illness or for other legislative business.
The California Constitution states that lawmakers cannot receive compensation when the Legislature is in recess for more than three calendar days. That means that in addition to the 120 floor sessions held so far this year, lawmakers also could claim per diem for an additional 81 weekend days that fell between Thursday and Monday sessions.
Supporters of the system say many lawmakers, particularly those who do not live within a short driving distance of Sacramento, could not afford to maintain two residences without the extra money.
They also point out that the California Citizens Compensation Commission slashed lawmakers' pay last year by 18 percent.
"Frankly, I know everybody thinks legislators are overpaid and underworked and that they should be working for free to have such a privilege," said Terry Price, a Santa Rosa political consultant who is working on Assemblywoman Noreen Evans' campaign to replace Wiggins. "But they (the commission) cut their pay so dramatically the last few years. They get no retirement at all, zero."
He noted a state senator now earns $50,000 less a year than members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
Wiggins, who is 70 and reportedly in declining health, does not qualify for state disability. She did not buy into a longer-term plan and because of her age is now prevented from doing so, according to Steinberg's office.
But critics say the per diem system rewards lawmakers even when they are not in Sacramento. And they say there is no accountability for how the money is dispersed.
As Exhibit A, they point to Wiggins.
"In a state where we are trying to look at every single dollar, this to me seems inappropriate," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.
Wiggins' health problems appear related to several embarrassing outbursts she's had in public and were cited as the reasons why she decided to not seek a second, four-year term.
But she did not cite illness as the main reason why she could not be present for floor sessions in Sacramento this year, accounting for only 10 of her absences, records show.
Instead, she cited legislative business as the reason for 68 absences, including all but five days from April through August.
She did not claim per diem for four days that she was out on "personal business."
The idea that Wiggins was well enough to work in the vast 2nd District but not in Sacramento is at odds with the obvious issues with her health.
The last time she attended a floor session on June 3, she did not sit at her usual desk but instead cast votes from the press bay surrounded by Conner, her staff and Senate sergeants. The only reason she was present at all was because four bills would have died without her vote.
Critics say it would have been more honest of Wiggins to put down that she was ill. Merrifield said the fact she did not and yet still received per diem for her absences points to a problem of oversight with the system.
"It's asking the Legislature to essentially police themselves, so it's not surprising that there's no accountability on per diem," Merrifield said.
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