By Majorca Daily Bulletin reporter
Until now politicians in the Balearics didn’t have to reveal their expenses, but that’s all about to change and in future they’ll have to justify every penny they spend.
When transparency laws were approved nearly 40 years ago they didn’t include the need for expenses to be justified, but from January all expenses will be published quarterly on the Balearic Parliament's website.
Publication of this data also means that their expenses can be compared to detect any possible abuses.
The 59 deputies will have to present a report of all remuneration, allowances and compensation, including their salary, overnight accommodation expenses, mileage, taxis, parking and plane tickets.
They will also have to declare any invitations and gifts worth more than 100 euros received as representatives of the Balearic Parliament.
In recent months the absence of deputies has meant that many plenary session votes have ended in a tie, but Parliament is introducing tougher rules to stop that happening. From now on the deputies will be monitored and any absences from plenary sessions will be made public.
The Parliamentary Regulations that came into force in 2019 included a series of decisions related to the transparency of deputies’ accounts but they were never been enforced.
Data for the first quarter of 2021 will be published on May 1; data for April to June will be published on August 1; third quarter data will be published on November 1 and 4th quarter data will be published on February 1.
The salaries for full-time deputies varies depending on whether they are Spokespersons or not. The President received 72,106.51 euros last year; Vice Presidents and Secretaries of the Table received 67,449.90, which is similar to Spokespersons.
Alternate spokespersons received 63,907.62 euros and Spokespersons in Commission got 62,599.53 euros. A Common Deputy receives 57,949.92 euros.
Deputies for Minorca and Eivissa receive a 70 euro per diem and 90 euros for an overnight stay; Deputies for Formentera receive a 100 euro per diem and 140 euros for an overnight stay. Their mileage allowance is 0.24 euros.
Sanctions
The Balearic Parliament Regulations do not include a sanctioning system for non-compliance by Deputies who don't attend plenary sessions or commissions and abuses such as former Podemos Deputy Montserrat Seijas sleeping on a sofa in Parliament have been detected in the past.
Members who are full time have the right to receive transitional compensation in a single payment of 10,335.93 euros once they leave office. They will not be able to receive other remuneration until the constitution of the new Parliament.
December 26, 2020 at 03:45PM
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