Granted, state lawmakers put in some long hours during their special session — though many of them spent much of the time just sitting around. But they don’t deserve to get paid for the three days they took off over the July 4 weekend — especially when it was their own fault that they missed the Kansas Supreme Court’s July 1 deadline and had to come back on July 6 to finish the session. At $175-a-day pay for 165 lawmakers, their three-day break cost taxpayers $86,625.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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16 Comments
$86,000 would put a nice roof on something.
Well at least they didn’t fork out 1.2 million dollars for a special election for a constitutional admendment. That would have been a true waste.
They got paid for a holiday during a special session? Just another outrage from our Legislature. There’s an answer for this kind of tomfoolery, but of course we’ll forget about it when election time comes rolling around.We’ll do what Kansans are known for and re-elect the same tired no-new-ideas conservatives and then whine about their performance. All you have to do to get elected in Kansas is say you’re against abortion (which they’ve done nothing about), say you’re against gay marriage (an answer without an issue), and sell your soul to special intrests. We need to show our legislators that their jobs aren’t a lifetime appointment. Aw, who am I kidding? Same stuff, different day. Welcome to Kansas, where suicide is redundant.
But for Speaker Doug Mays, the special session would have been over in 3 days. Remember how quickly the Senate passed a $160 mil. bill? Because Doug Mays wanted a constitutional amendment and/or a campaign issue next year, he single-handedly thwarted bringing to a vote the Senate bill. He doesn’t deserve to lead House Republicans, let alone the state of Kansas as a potential governor.
Truth update – the legislature was not in session July 3th to the 5th. We returned July 6th, finished up at 11:00 pm, and were paid for one additional day. This is another example of the Eagle and Brownlee not printing the truth.
Here is a Topeka Capital-Journal article on July 7 about the paid holiday:
Recess was paid holidayBy Tim CarpenterThe Capital-Journal
While legislators took a three-day holiday from the special session, each was paid as if working full-time to resolve a school finance showdown with the Kansas Supreme Court.
Neither the House nor Senate gaveled into session Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Like it or not, state law says all 165 members are entitled to pocket at least $175 for each of those days.
At least a dozen legislators decided Wednesday to forgo a portion of salary earned during the political sabbatical. That will trim the cost of the special session for taxpayers, who have been responsible for picking up the $34,500 daily tab.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said he wouldn’t accept payment for Sunday through Tuesday.
“It’s an individual choice,” he said. “I don’t feel like I could in good conscience take the pay.”
House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, said it would be a financial hardship for some lawmakers to surrender any portion of their legislative pay. Most left regular jobs behind, at significant financial sacrifice, to participate in the special session. Out-of-town legislators also grapple with extra expenses for transportation and lodging, he said.He said there could be political risk in not waiving salary from the three-day period.
“I’m sure it will make some people mad and make some of us look bad,” McKinney said.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius called the special session in response to a Kansas Supreme Court order to increase education spending by $143 million by July 1. Lawmakers convened in Topeka on June 22, but failed to reach a compromise during 11 days of deliberations. Frustration with the impasse prompted a vote Saturday to take the three-day break.
Resumption of action Wednesday means state legislators have been in Topeka for 97 days in 2005. The Legislature budgets for 90 days of operation.
Sen. Vicki Schmidt, R-Topeka, said she stopped accepting legislative compensation after 90 days elapsed.
“It was an easy decision,” she said. “I just don’t think the taxpayers should have to pay for this.”
House Majority Leader Clay Aurand, R-Courtland, said he intended to accept compensation in accordance with state law. He said it might be possible to shorten the 2006 regular session to reflect the extra cost of the special session in 2005.
“I’d rather cut it out of next year and make it a total of 180 days over two years,” he said. “We’d still be on budget.”
Tim Carpenter can be reached at (785) 296-3005 or tim.carpenter@cjonline.com.
There were quite a few Dems. who waived their pay for those three days. It would be interesting to see if others like Steve Huebert took they pay without doing anything. You would think that he has been there long enough to know how it works.
Um, looks to me like Mr. Huebert got caught in a fib. I hope his constituients read that. Way to go Phillip!
Actually, there’s still a chance that Mr. Huebert was merely mistaken.
He is, according to his House bio, an ergonomic analyst (not an economic analyst).
If he were merely mistaken, however, then it appears he got the cart way out front of the horse when he accused Phillip and the Eagle of “not printing the truth.”
If I were to accuse somebody of lying – in public – I would certainly want to make sure I had my ducks in a row (at the minimum).
Assuming that Mr. Huebert is actually Rep. Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center, that is. ;)
I will check to see if I was mistaken. I will return pay for the holiday if I was wrong. During the regular session, you have to be present and check in to be paid. I was not informed or asked if I wanted to waive pay for those three days. I will follow up tommorrow with the rest of the story.
Got to love a legislative back peddle. As usual, they shoot off thier mouth and then when the facts are laid out (and they can’t dispute them which is method one of dealing with them) they run backwards – but without an apology for those they accuse of not telling the truth.
Rest of the story – I called legislative services and found out I was wrong. I did shoot off my mouth without checking the facts and I apologize. I have given Phillip an apology and I will check the facts in the future before blogging.
Well wasn’t that an interesting development? My congrats to Mr. Huebert for having the cajones to appoligize, but it makes me a little nervous that he’d come off with an attack like that in the first place. I suppose now that the Eagle reported the truth and embarrassed a Republican, we’ll hear the usual screams about their Liberal slant.
Locke – No doubt about it. It’s just a liberal media conspiracy to make the Republican’s look bad. Heubert will now check the facts before blogging . . . does that mean he won’t before going on TV, writing the letter to the editor, or sending out a mailing? Why do I think he left himself several outs for his poor conduct?
The photo in the blog shows Rep. Goico playing a computer game during the special session. I wonder if he waived his pay for the three days, or for that matter, the time he spent playing games on his computer and playing games with the taxpayers.