AN ACT to set 2027 legislator mileage and per diem at 2025 federal rates.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Effective upon the convening of the 2027 General Assembly and applicable to travel occurring on or after that date, G.S. 120‑3.1(a) reads as rewritten:

(a)      In addition to compensation for their services, members of the General Assembly shall be paid the following allowances:

(1)        A weekly travel allowance for each week or fraction thereof that the General Assembly is in regular or extra session. The amount of the weekly travel allowance shall be calculated for each member by multiplying the actual round‑trip mileage from that member's home to the City of Raleigh by the rate per mile which is the business standard mileage rate set by the Internal Revenue Service in Rev. Proc. 93‑51, December 27, 1993.IR‑2023‑239, Notice 2024‑8, December 14, 2023.

(2)        A travel allowance at the rate which is the business standard mileage rate set by the Internal Revenue Service in Rev. Proc. 93‑51, December 27, 1993, IR‑2023‑239, Notice 2024‑8, December 14, 2023, whenever the member travels, whether in or out of session, as a representative of the General Assembly or of its committees or commissions, with the approval of the Legislative Services Commission.

(3)        A subsistence allowance for meals and lodging at a daily rate equal to the maximum per diem rate for federal employees traveling to Raleigh, North Carolina, as set out at 58 Federal Register 67959 (December 22, 1993), 89 Federal Register 67093 (August 19, 2024), while the General Assembly is in session and, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, while the General Assembly is not in session when, with the approval of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the case of Representatives or the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in case of Senators, the member is:

a.         Traveling as a representative of the General Assembly or of its committees or commissions, or

b.         Otherwise in the service of the State.

A member who is authorized to travel, whether in or out of session, within the United States outside North Carolina, may elect to receive, in lieu of the amount provided in the preceding paragraph, a subsistence allowance of twenty‑six dollars ($26.00) a day for meals, plus actual expenses for lodging when evidenced by a receipt satisfactory to the Legislative Services Officer, the latter not to exceed the maximum per diem rate for federal employees traveling to the same place, as set out at 58 Federal Register 67950‑67964 (December 22, 1993) and at 59 Federal Register 23702‑23709 (May 6, 1994).89 Federal Register 67093 (August 19, 2024).

(4)        A member may be reimbursed for registration fees as permitted by the Legislative Services Commission.

SECTION 2.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.