in Houston, Texas
Sen. Judith Zaffirini's travel, per diem costs: A correction to the final tally
Fri Nov 6 11:55:36 2009 CST
By Lee Ann O'Neal
Sen. Judith Zaffirini spent about $58,800 on travel expenses and per diem payments over a year and a half period, outspending her state Senate colleagues. That's based on a review of electronic travel records from Jan. 1, 2008, to May 1, 2009, that Texas Watchdog used as the basis for a blog item on her spending yesterday.

Texas Watchdog originally reported a higher, incorrect total for Zaffirini's spending. We apologize for the error.

We arrived at the figure based on numbers in two spreadsheets, which had been compiled by the secretary of the senate's office and provided under the Texas Public Information Act. Overnight per diem payments to senators appeared in both spreadsheets, and unfortunately, we didn't catch that duplication before we did the first tally.

Also, after double-checking the figures, Sen. Kirk Watson still came out spending the least, at more than $21,000.
Comments
Andy Crossett
Sunday, 11/15/2009 - 01:35
This story is ridiculous. There is no context whatsoever. So a politician spends x amount of dollars over a certain period. Where was this congressperson travelling? For what purpose? How can a reader make a judgement on whether the costs were justified? Just my two cents.
Jennifer Peebles
Sunday, 11/15/2009 - 08:36
Andy, Welcome to our site, and we appreciate the feedback. Take care, Jennifer P. jennifer@texaswatchdog.org
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