KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's House speaker has tightened the purse strings on out-of-state travel by state representatives.

Before Beth Harwell's policy change, House members were allowed to take one out-of-state trip per year with taxpayers covering transportation plus hotel costs and an expense allowance of $176 per day. They were also allowed to make more trips and bill the state only for daily, or "per diem," expenses.

The policy started in May makes the one-trip-per-year rule also apply to per diem payments.

Harwell said members can still charge their travel expenses to their campaign accounts instead of charging taxpayers.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that records for 2010 indicate at least 16 representatives collected per diem payments for more than one out-of-state trip.

Two House members from Memphis, Democratic Reps. Lois DeBerry and Karen Camper, had already made two out-of-state trips and received per diem payments this year before Harwell changed the policy. Twelve others had already made one trip.

"The decision to change the travel reimbursement policy to one trip per year is a reflection of our efforts to hold down costs and reflect savings in the Legislature's budget," Harwell spokeswoman Kara Watkins said in an email. "Speaker Harwell feels very strongly that if families are cutting their own budget and making reductions, the Legislature should follow suit."

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey has a policy that allows senators to make as many out-of-state trips as they wish, subject to his approval, with hotel and travel costs reimbursed as well as the per diem. Records show six senators made two or more out-of-state trips last year, led by Sen. Reginald Tate, D-Memphis, with eight.

DeBerry and the late Rep. Ulysses Jones, who died in November after winning re-election to a new term, both had eight out-of-state trips last year.

DeBerry, the senior member of the House and former speaker pro tempore, is chair of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, while Jones was vice president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. DeBerry has also held leadership positions in the NBCSL and the National Conference of State Legislators.

All legislators are paid per diem each day the General Assembly is in session for committees or House and Senate floor meetings, but they must apply for the payments when the Legislature is out of session, regardless of the activity location.

Watkins said Harwell does not accept per diem payments other than during legislative sessions and then donates the money to charity.

The newspaper previously reported that Gov. Bill Haslam's Cabinet members have taken fewer out-of-state trips this year than their predecessors did in their last six months of Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration. Haslam spokesman David Smith said the Republican administration has tried to limit out-of-state travel.