Some of you may already have seen the WaPo article claiming that Palin overcharged for her per diem travel expenses. If not, take a look: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR200809...

I'm concerned about the story because it seems to me it may not have legs, and if so will only serve as yet another distraction from our need to keep the focus on McCain and substantive issues. So I did a little searching this morning. I found the document from the Alaska Division of Finance that describes the rules for per diems (note this is a downloadable pdf): http://fin.admin.state.ak.us/dof/travel/resource/rates.pdf
And I also found the Finance Division's FAQ regarding per diems, here: http://fin.admin.state.ak.us/dof/sto/3faq.jsp

The problem is I'm operating on only a few hours sleep and the governmentalese seems like gibberish to me at the moment. I think it's really important to understand the actual situation, so that we can damp down any furor over this story, if it turns out to be a red herring. A furor over a scandal that proves false will only play into the GOP's hands and may convince voters to disregard any subsequent negative story, such as the results of the Troopergate Investigation.

Can anyone help to decode the rules and regulations about per diems? What about travel for her family?

For those who may not want to bother with the pdf, this appears to be the relevant information contained in it (please forgive if the formatting turns out all wonky - I don't really know HTML):
<blockquote>

(Under Notes): LTC members assigned to work more than 50 miles from their permanent duty station are entitled to a commuting allowance if they return to their residence on their own time (e.g. weekends). The commuting allowance is 90% of lodging allowance (see chart) plus M&IE (I think M&IE indicates meals and incidental expenses). Commuting allowance and M&IE paid may be taxable.

The following are the rates for in-state travel: For lodging General Government: Short-term Non-Commercial: Traveler's option of actuals or $30 noncommercial Long-term/Non-Commercial: Traveler's option of $45 at commercial or $30 at noncommercial facility

AAM Lodging: Short-term Non-Commercial Reimbursement of actual costs applies if travel is short-term (30 days or less), OR $30 noncommercial when commercial facilities are not available. See Travel Per Diem FAQ #7.

Long-term/Non-Commercial: Applies if travel is more than 30 days. Traveler's option of $45 at commercial or $30 at noncommercial facility. See Travel Per Diem FAQ #7.</blockquote>