Pay-advisory group takes up legislators' expenses

Members of the citizens group that will set lawmakers' salaries spent Wednesday debating what types of expenses, if any, they think legislators should be able to recoup.

On Wednesday, the group heard testimony from a Little Rock lawyer, Scott Trotter, who asked the Independent Citizens Commission to recommend that the Legislature cease reimbursements for office expenses and instead pay a higher salary.

Trotter suggested that in addition to eliminating office expenses that, on average, are $14,440 a year, legislators should also get annual cost-of-living pay increases, plus extra money to compensate them for the work they do during fiscal sessions.

The Legislature used to meet only once every two years. In 2008, voters passed Amendment 86, which authorized a short "fiscal" session in even-numbered years. The first such session was held in 2010.

In total, Trotter's recommendation would raise the $15,869 salary to $42,020.

"I would encourage you all now ... to go ahead and make the necessary corrections and put that proposal out there," Trotter said. "If [the legislators] don't like it, you can hear [the public comment period's offerings] and you can weigh that in your final decisions."

The commission -- which will have to submit salary levels for legislators, state judges and constitutional officers by Monday if it wants to raise salaries by more than 15 percent -- will also make recommendations to legislators on how to address per diem, mileage and office expenses.

But those recommendations are not binding, a fact that commissioner Barbara Graves noted.

Commissioner Mitch Berry said: "I don't think they'll agree with us entirely [on our expense recommendations]. If they don't, I expect they'll come forward during public comment period and we'll have a discussion as to why."

While some commissioners entertained doing away with office expenses in general, others were more interested in simply eliminating the practice of billing the state for running a "home office."

Some also suggested the Legislature should stop lawmakers from forming limited liability companies to pay family members for constituent services.

"A lot of the expenses that are being reimbursed are legitimate, so you don't want to turn those expense reimbursements into taxable income," Berry said. "If I'm buying stamps ... to send mail to my constituents, I should probably get reimbursed with that without it being part of my taxable income."

Today, the commission is expected to further discuss judges' salaries.

Once they make their salary recommendations, commissioners will begin a public comment period and can go back and revise their salary determinations.

Metro on 01/29/2015

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