Senators Use Allowance For Many Purchases

by State Senator Sam Slom, Senate Minority Blog, October 25, 2013

Garlic salt, leis, stationery, meals, hand towels, computer software, furniture, newsletters and a trip to Tahiti are part of an extensive list of State Senate Allowance expenditures published in a Honolulu Civil Beat news report on Tuesday, October 22.

Senate Allowance expenditures for 2012 and 2013 showed that many of my colleagues have used their allowance for all sorts of purchases which are supposed to be connected to the duties of the senate office and legislature.

The Senate Allowance is an annual, taxpayer funded expense account given to each legislator in addition to their regular salary. State Senators got a $10,200 allowance in 2012. For 2013 that amount increased to $11,261.

When I first started in the Senate back in 1996, the annual allowance was $5,000.

I have never used the Senate Allowance since taking office in 1996. From that time to 2012, I have saved the state an estimated $118,037 of taxpayer funds. I continue to not use the allowance and won’t be in future years.

You can read the entire Civil Beat article as well as examine the detailed list of Senate allowance expenditures at the >>> LINK