Dozens of state legislators are turning in their car keys this week, as a decades-old program providing them with state-purchased vehicles comes to an end.

Taxpayers have picked up most of the tab for cars purchased for members of the state Legislature, covering up to $285 of a monthly lease as well as gas, insurance and maintenance costs. Legislators paid the remaining cost of the lease for whatever car they chose.

But an independent panel that governs lawmakers' pay put the brakes on the perk earlier this year, instructing the Legislature to cut the program by December.

The program's demise hasn't exactly come as a surprise to lawmakers, who have watched budget deficits grow and their approval ratings drop.

"You read the papers," said Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale. "The stories that are written (about the cars) are always unfavorable."

But the new car program could end up digging deeper into taxpayers' pockets.

The April resolution ending the car program called for giving legislators an additional $300 a month to offset the cost of driving on the job. Members of the California Citizens Compensation Commission supporting the resolution argued that the allowances would amount to $432,000 a year, halving the state's spending on legislators' driving.

But state Controller John Chiang, pointing to advice from the state attorney general, told the Legislature last month that the panel did not have the authority to create a new car allowance. Current state law, the opinion said, only authorizes legislators to be reimbursed at up to 55.5 cents a mile – the current rate for state employees.

While the Assembly and the Senate have not settled on a reimbursement rate, a mileage-based route could prove more expensive for the state, especially in the case of legislators who represent expansive districts.

Driving as few as 540 miles a month for meetings, constituent events and trips to and from the Capitol could result in a legislator pocketing more than the $300 proposed allowance in mileage reimbursement.

"My educated guess, since that's what it would be at this point, is that it would probably cost the Assembly more than the current program we have. But we will do what we can to keep that down," Assembly administrator Jon Waldie said.

Bob Stern, former president of the recently closed Center for Governmental Studies, said cutting the program is "worth doing" even if it costs the state more in the end.

"Not very many people have their employers give them cars, and these are, after all, our representatives and they really shouldn't be getting perks that very few people get," he said.

The Assembly and Senate are set to auction off or sell to third-party vendors approximately 77 cars, including three 2011 Buick LaCrosses, a 2011 Ford Mustang and a 2011 Ford Edge bought within the last year.

The Assembly already has sought bids for the cars issued to its members, selling vehicles to the broker who offers the highest price. The Senate plans to conduct a similar process once the cars are turned in.

Mark Hedlund, spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, said the upper house expects to take a loss on transactions, particularly when it comes to newer models purchased for legislators earlier this year.

"You get into a car and you drive it off the lot and it immediately depreciates rapidly. So now we're taking a car that's a year or less old with not that many miles on it and selling it back," he said. "From a financial standpoint it's not the wisest thing to do, but we obviously have to do that because we're following what the commission told us to do."

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are looking for new rides or making arrangements to buy back their state cars from third-party vendors that win the bidding process.

"It's 80 people in our house who are car shopping, and that's always a complicated issue," said John Vigna, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. "So I think everyone is just figuring out what works for them and their family budget."

While legislators are not permitted to buy their cars directly from the state, Waldie said, the Assembly has notified members who express interest in buying back their cars of the name and phone number of the broker taking over the title, but has stopped short of offering any additional assistance.

That camp includes Pérez, who Vigna said will purchase the 2010 Chrysler Sebring Limited convertible that he drives around his Los Angeles district from KM Motors, a wholesaler that bought the car for $17,000.

Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Penn Valley, said he has agreed to buy the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid he has driven for the last three years from a private broker. Logue said he paid $20,000 for the vehicle, which has racked up 95,000 miles since the Assembly purchased it for $48,499 in 2008. Some lawmakers, including Steinberg, have bought new cars for personal use, while others are preparing to rely more heavily on their personal cars.

LaMalfa, who had been driving a state-purchased 2006 Chrysler 600, said he put a new engine in his 1994 Ford Taurus SHO in anticipation of using it for some of the roughly 35,000 miles a year he estimates he drives for work.

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Call Torey Van Oot, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5544.

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