State legislators have spread the gospel of belt-tightening all through this interminable session, but many haven’t practiced what they’ve preached.

According to an Associated Press story, a review of legislative records showed that most House members accepted $104 a day in expense money for the Thanksgiving week, although the legislative body’s official business included only a sparsely attended session on Tuesday, Nov. 20, and a Thursday meeting that literally lasted only two minutes. So for taking the week off, they walked away with $728. That sort of gorging at the public trough is especially hard for taxpayers to swallow when they face bigger bites from their own wallets and see budget cutbacks affecting Social Service agencies, community colleges and a host of other essential programs.

House members may argue that they’re never really on holiday, even when they spend time at home, and that the more important parts of their jobs — meeting with constituents, lunching with lobbyists or preparing bills — take place outside regular assembly sessions. But the per diem funds are supposed to reimburse legislators for lodging and meals in Raleigh, and on days when they don’t incur those expenses — such as Thanksgiving holidays spent at home — they shouldn’t take the money.

The Senate seems to have grasped that concept. Knowing the legislature would spend much of November in recess, Senate leader Marc Basnight asked his colleagues to forego the per diem when they weren’t in Raleigh, and they’ve complied.

House members need to take the same approach. The per diem payments are supposed to be a supplementary stipend, not a de facto salary that — in this lengthy session — could total more than $32,000 per legislator, in addition to their base pay of $13,951. Some legislators have said they’ll return any per diem collected for days they weren’t working in Raleigh. Others should follow suit. They wouldn’t want voters suspecting they’re trying to milk full-time pay from a part-time job.