BURBANK, Calif. – The free ride is over for California legislators.

With the state in a budget crisis, a government panel voted Thursday to end the decades-old practice of providing taxpayer-financed vehicles for Senate and Assembly members who want them, along with insurance, repairs and unlimited gasoline, all on the public tab.

The new deal: Get around in your own car. Starting in December, the state will give legislators $300 a month payment to offset gas, insurance and other expenses, more than cutting in half the annual cost to taxpayers to keep lawmakers on the road.

The Citizens Compensation Commission, voting 5-0 with one abstention, sent a clear signal that it was time for legislators to surrender a luxury in a state where a car is often a necessity — and a status statement.

With California struggling to make ends meet “everything has to save money,” said commission member John Ronald Stites II.

The vote came at a time when the state is struggling to close a $26.6 billion deficit, workers have been furloughed, billions in spending will be slashed and legislators’ pay and perks are coming under scrutiny.

Commission member Charles Murray said state lawmakers receive compensation that averages $131,000 annually, not counting retirement. That includes $95,291 in base salary, $5,700 for health care, $7,453 for vehicle costs and nearly $23,000 in additional payments known as per diems, a package far larger than their counterparts in states like New York, Illinois or Texas.

The new car payments would cut the average vehicle costs to $3,600 a year for legislators, saving more than $2 million over five years, according to commission estimates. The legislators will surrender the taxpayer-financed vehicles to the state.

The panel left untouched salary levels and other benefits, such as health and dental care.

The Associated Press reported in December that one recent purchase of vehicles by the Legislature included a $55,000 Cadillac sedan and a $52,000 Lexus hybrid, and the National Conference of State Legislatures said California is the only state in the nation that provided vehicles to its lawmakers for unlimited use. While the vehicles were intended for work travel, there was no way for the state to know if the cars were also being used for personal trips.