In a show of solidarity with the 70,000 state employees who have been forced to take unpaid furlough days to alleviate the state’s budget crisis, all four state legislators from Maryland’s 21st district, which encompasses College Park, have volunteered for a pay cut.
Shortly after Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the furlough plan in late August, which decrees state workers must take between three and 10 days off in correlation to their annual salaries, General Assembly leaders called for legislators to donate a portion of their income to the state.
Delegates Ben Barnes, Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Barbara Frush, as well as Sen. Jim Rosapepe, all of whom represent part of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, turned over a fraction of their salaries to state coffers again, just as they all did after a similar call to action last year. Under the state’s constitution, General Assembly representatives cannot have their salaries reduced.
“If we’re going to ask state workers to take this furlough, I felt it was important to show that we’re all in it together,” said Barnes, who gave up eight days of pay and also works as a lawyer. “It’s necessary to keep from having to lay off folks, to keep from administering services in a draconian way.”
O’Malley announced last month that another round of budget cuts and possible layoffs of state workers will take place Nov.17, potentially totaling $290 million. The state already faces a $2 billion budget deficit for the next fiscal year.
In total, 38 of 47 senators and 101 of 141 state delegates also volunteered for a pay cut, figures which do not include at least one representative who turned over income but did not want his or her name disclosed, according to an e-mail from state Assistant Attorney General Sandra Brantley. It is also possible that legislators gave money directly to a charity of their choice, she added.
The remaining legislators have until the end of the year to file the appropriate paperwork. Last year, 22 of the 188 members of the General Assembly opted against it.
The average salary of a Maryland state representative is $43,500, which puts them in the income bracket equivalent of eight furlough days, although they don’t necessarily have to return an equivalent amount to the number of days off. Even if they choose to take furlough days, the fraction they must return is based on a 365-day work year, although the legislative session is 90 days, according to The Washington Post. That means for eight days’ pay they lose $966.72. For state workers with 40-hour work weeks, those making the same amount as legislators had to give up $1,338.46.
It is unclear how much the at-will pay cut program will help budget troubles.
“Whether it makes a difference or not, it doesn’t matter; it’s the right thing to do,” said Peña-Melnyk, who gave up five days’ salary and, unlike most other lawmakers, does not have another job.
The savings from other programs is more definite: The state employee furlough plan is expected to amass $75 million, including a $10.2 million cut from the incomes of university workers under a furlough plan that operates similarly to the state’s. In another budget-trimming measure, legislative offices in Annapolis will shut down for five or more days around holidays when state agencies close, for which 633 lawmakers as well as General Assembly and Department of Legislative employees won’t be paid, saving $1.1 million.
“We in the 21st District are very strong supporters of state employees, particularly at the University of Maryland, and we’ve fought hard to protect them,” said Rosapepe. “What I’ve generally heard from folks who work for the university, they’re glad everyone is giving up a little in the furlough policy. Everybody knows it’s tough times, and we’re pulling together to get through it.”
The state chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees wholeheartedly agrees with the voluntary program, said chapter director Patrick Moran.
“We think it’s fair because it brings them in line with the state employees who work hard everyday for the state of Maryland,” he said.
Moran said the union endorses extra measures the state government could take to quell the budget situation, such as extending the millionaires’ tax, which has an expiration date.
The union also wants to initiate combined reporting, which forces state-based corporations to declare their profits in the state instead of shifting them to branches in other states in an effort to avoid a corporate income tax.
astice at umdbk dot com
