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Monday, November 23, 2009

Ind. Gov't. - "NWI Region lawmakers balance the demands of legislative work, real jobs"

Dan Carden has a story today in the NWI Times on part-time (Indiana) vs. full-time (Illinois) legislators. Some quotes:

Service in the General Assembly is considered a part-time job. Technically, the Legislature only meets from early January through March 15 in even-numbered years and April 30 in odd-numbered years.

But special sessions, summer study committees, caucus meetings and constituent needs tend to keep lawmakers on the job year-round.

"This job is not a part-time job," said state Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh, D-Crown Point. "Somebody's always wanting to meet you, wanting you to speak somewhere. There's constituent problems that come in every day."

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she used to be able to balance her career as a Gary teacher with her work at the Legislature. She would teach from September to January, take a leave of absence when session started and be back in the classroom the Monday after adjournment.

But Rogers says an intensive legislative workload and new technology making it easier for constituents to contact her have increased the time it takes to be a legislator.

"I don't know whether I could have done it as effectively when I worked as a teacher, as I can do it now, since I'm retired," Rogers said.

Last year, VanDenburgh quit her job as director of child support payments at the Lake County clerk's office to devote more time to her work as a state representative.

"I miss the money, though, from having two paychecks," she said.

State lawmakers earn about $40,000 a year. Officially the salary is $19,890, but lawmakers also receive expenses payments, called per diems, of $155 on days the Legislature is in session and $62 on other days they do legislative work, according to the Legislative Services Agency.

One advantage some see to a part-time legislature is that lawmakers are essentially forced to have other work, and that keeps them grounded in the concerns of their constituents. * * *

In contrast to Indiana, the Illinois General Assembly is considered a "full-time" legislature.

The legislative session in Illinois officially runs from January to June, with a two-week Veto Session in October.

In recent years, innumerable special sessions to address ongoing budget crises have kept the Legislature in Springfield practically year-round.

Illinois lawmakers earn about $60,000 per year, plus daily session per diems. But most earn an additional $10,000 or so for serving in leadership positions in their party or on legislative committees.

A significant difference between Illinois and Indiana is the size of a legislator's staff.

In both states, legislators share staff at the Statehouse within their chamber's party caucus.

But Illinois lawmakers also receive money to open and staff offices in their legislative districts. Indiana lawmakers do not.

Like Illinois, a number of Indiana legislators also receive leadership allowances. And they receive health benefits, and pension benefits. Notably, their pension benefits are computed on the basis of their "salary", which is defined by law as (1) salary, (2) per diem, and (3) leadership allowances. This ILB entry from March 4, 2007 and this one from Aug. 20, 2008 provides background.

For more information, here are the pages of the state budget which went into effect July 1, 2009 dealing with legislative compensation. Note however that funds for legislative pensions and health insurance are not included in these pages (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 23, 2009 10:07 AM
Posted to Legislative Benefits