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State legislators have variety of jobs in private life Sunday, Jan 28, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - No butchers or candlestick makers are on the roster, but the membership of Arkansas' 86th General Assembly does include a baker. Seven insurance agents, three car dealers and one doctor also serve in Arkansas' citizen Legislature. Of the state's 100 representatives and 35 senators, most have jobs other than legislator. For their service, the state's part-time legislators are paid $14,765 annually, plus per diem payments and mileage reimbursements for members who live more than 50 miles from Little Rock, so few ditch their regular jobs after being elected. Rep. Ed Garner, R-Maumelle, said he is feeling the pressure of operating a business while trying to get up to speed as a freshman legislator. He said he may take on a managing partner to share the work load at his bakery, Mama's Manna Bakery in Maumelle. "It's pretty hard ... to be a working person in your business and then have the challenge of doing a good job in the Legislature," Garner said. The General Assembly includes 19 members who farm or raise livestock, eight who are consultants and six who work in banking or other financial services. Four are building contractors and one, Rep. Frank Glidewell, D-Fort Smith, is an electrical contractor. Three members, Rep. Steven Breedlove, D-Greenwood, Otis Davis, D-Earle, and Sen. Hank Wilkins IV, D-Pine Bluff, are ministers. Two, Rep. Nancy Blount, D-Marianna, and Sen. Paul Bookout, D-Jonesboro, are funeral directors. Rep. Gene Shelby, D-Hot Springs, is an emergency physician at National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs. Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro, is an antique dealer. Some members are on the public payroll in private life as well as in the Legislature. Ten are employed as teachers or school administrators, and two work for state agencies. Rep. Jim Medley, R-Fort Smith, is the chief executive of the Area Agency on Aging of Western Arkansas. Rep. George Overbey, D-Lamar, is a hearing officer for the state Department of Finance and Administration. A state law prohibits constitutional officers, including legislators, from entering into employment with a public school district or a state agency after being elected. However, there is nothing in the law to prohibit a person who already holds a school or state agency job from being elected to office and keeping that job, according to Graham Sloan, executive director of the state Ethics Commission. Sloan said the law is aimed at preventing elected officials from using their offices to give themselves state jobs. "If you had the employment and got elected to a constitutional office, then it could not be said that that office had anything to do with you getting that job. But conversely, if you got elected and then took the job, there could at least be a perception that you used the office in some form or fashion to get the job," he said. Lawyers make up 11 percent of the Legislature, with 15 currently serving. That's a small portion compared to the 41 percent of members of Congress who have law degrees. Unlike Arkansas lawmakers, members of Congress are full-time legislators with annual salaries of $165,200, plus benefits. Rep. Earnest Brown, D-Pine Bluff, a lawyer serving his first term in the Legislature, said many lawyers may be discouraged from running for office at the state level because of the sacrifices involved. "You have a lot of attorneys that may have had a government background - when I say that, they may have been involved in student government or college government - and have an interest in it, but once you get into the practice of law and trying to still balance that and then the time commitment that it takes with running for office and serving, I think that sometimes it financially puts a strain on you," he said. But Brown said he probably would not have run for office if the Legislature were full-time, a sentiment shared by many lawmakers, including Sen. Jim Argue, D-Little Rock. Argue heads a nonprofit organization, the United Methodist Foundation of Arkansas. He said that although it can be stressful to balance public service with full-time employment, he likes it that his family's well-being is not dependent on his being re-elected. "It's allowed me to be independent, sometimes a vocal minority, step on any toe I wanted to, and if it had cost me my re-election, I would have been disappointed, but my family would not have been jeopardized," he said. A downside of having a part-time legislature, Argue said, is that "you don't have legislators with years of experience on public policy issues." Term limits also contribute to that problem, he said. Senate President Pro Tem Jack Critcher, D-Batesville, said serving in the Legislature is really a full-time job, at least for those who are dedicated to doing the job they were elected to do. However, the pay is so low that those who can afford to serve are mostly either retired, independently wealthy, self-employed or employed as corporate executives, Critcher said. Twelve of the current members identify themselves as retired. Nine do not list an occupation. More than 40 are business owners or executives. "You have lots of people who would love to serve, but they can't afford to. I'd like to see people kick that salary up there to a competitive level. You would certainly expand your pool of people who would be willing to serve," said Critcher, owner of Critcher Insurance. But Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, said he believes being part-time keeps Arkansas' legislators close to the people they serve. Serving in Congress ought to be part-time as well, said Hendren, an industrial engineer by training who is a farmer and owns several businesses, including a car dealership. "I think citizen legislators are what the founding fathers intended," he said. |
