A commission tasked with making recommendations for state legislative pay advanced a proposal Jan. 4 to raise the annual salary for Alaska lawmakers from $50,400 to $64,000, but also to significantly reduce and place limits on the daily allowance for living expenses that lawmakers receive when they are in session in Juneau.

The State Officer Compensation Commission, on a 3-1 vote, called for capping the allowance known as per diem at $100 a day and making the allowance reimbursement-based. Currently, lawmakers who do not live in Juneau are entitled to session per diem of $293 per day, with...