A committee of Nova Scotia MLAs voted unanimously Tuesday to completely revamp their expense system in the wake of a spending scandal.

At the first public session of the legislature's internal economy board, the MLAs decided they should have to present receipts for all purchases.

They also agreed to post all MLA expenses online.

They voted to do away with a $1,050 per month allowance that did not require receipts, and reduced their per diem rate to $38 from $84 that they are paid while the house is in session or while they attend legislature committees.

The committee also voted to set severe limits on what an MLA can spend on advertising, or give out as donations to individuals or groups.

Reviews have been ordered of how MLAs rent office space, buy equipment and furniture, how they submit expense claims and how those expenses are to be paid.

There will also be a review of salaries paid to constituency assistants.

The New Democratic MLAs on the committee proposed most of the changes, with the opposition members agreeing mostly without comment.

The opposition parties biggest complaint was that they had not been consulted first about the proposed changes.

The province has hired former speaker Art Donahoe to advise the government on changing the rules. His final report is not complete.

Finance Minister Graham Steele said that advice is still needed.

"Probably the best way to look on what is being proposed today is that we are suspending these payments pending Mr. Donahoe's report,” he said.

But Liberal MLA Manning MacDonald doesn’t believe that.

"This is over. You saw what happened here today; that's not going to change,” MacDonald said.

Deputy premier Frank Corbett, who led the charge on the committee, said the changes are permanent.

"Well, I think there was a need for change as highlighted in the A-G’s report, and they needed to be changed sooner rather than later, and we changed them now," he said.

"We have got rid of non-receiptable expenses. We've brought other expenses down to a level that's acceptable. These are all good things and I think that's what the important thing is today."

Corbett said Donahoe's report may help the government refine its changes, but MLAs now have a new set of rules to govern their spending.

The decision to proceed with changes comes after the auditor general denounced the spending rules for being inadequate, allowing inappropriate and excessive spending by MLAs.

In his 142-page report, Jacques Lapointe concluded inappropriate claims were made by some politicians for personal items, including almost $8,000 spent on a generator that was installed in a politician's home. Some examples of excessive spending included $13,445 for custom-made office furniture, $2,499 for a television and $738 for an espresso coffee machine.

The political parties are hoping to restore public confidence by making the sweeping changes.