Bay-area assemblyman Guy Houston;  guilty of per diem abuse/fraud

The evidence indicates that Guy Houston was not entitled to the majority of the more than $180,000 in per diem he collected from 2003 to 2008.

Per Diem of $170 (ca. 2008) per day is paid to legislators to defray living (lodging, meals) and travel costs to attend legislative sessions in Sacramento. In addition the per diem is tax free! 

On Sept. 25, 2009 Associated Press did a story titled “California Lawmakers Get Free Use of Gas Charge Cards.” In that story, Guy Houston was listed as the biggest gas guzzler. He said he used his state-issued Highlander to commute 180 miles roundtrip on most days from his home in the Bay area. Guy then said, “I’m one of those who lives just far enough away to where it takes a lot of gas and a lot of mileage to get home, but close enough where I get to go home and see my family. In six years, I haven’t cost the state one plane flight, but I do have to use a lot of gas.” (AP)

Guy Houston’s comments to Associated Press clearly prove that he never incurred any travel expenses for his daily commutes nor did he incur any lodging expenses while attending legislative sessions in Sacramento. Therefore, the sole expense he would have incurred on a daily basis was for meals. It would be laughable to the nth degree for Guy Houston to claim he spent $150 to $170 every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In fact, he received per diem for weekend days and holidays when in fact he could not possibly have incurred any travel expenses since he was residing in his home in San Ramon.

Below is a text box setting forth the cars Guy Houston bought on your dime and the fuel, maintenance, mileage and lease costs. It seems rather apparent that Guy Houston collected well over $150,000 in per diem payments that he was not lawfully entitled to.

                                                 Guy Houston - 15th Assembly - San Ramon