Unlike county elected officials who recently received automatic raises, state legislators have not had a pay increase since the 2006 election. Still, they're being asked to make a sacrifice just the same.
State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch have asked General Assembly members to give up a slice of their annual pay as a gesture of solidarity with state workers, who face two to five days of unpaid furlough as a cost-cutting measure.
Elected officials can't be furloughed, and also can't change their annual pay while in office. They can donate money to the state or a charity, however.
State employees who make more than $40,000 a year are facing five unpaid days off to erase $34 million of a projected revenue shortfall this fiscal year.
County-level elected officials got a 4.9 percent cost of living increase this month, but County Executive Ken Ulman, a Democrat, and council member Greg Fox, a Republican, said they would donate the raises to charity, too.
Ten of Howard's 11 legislators said they will comply with leadership's request, though several Republican delegates criticized Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley over the situation. Del James E. Malone, a Democrat, did not return repeated phone calls from a reporter.
GOP Dels. Gail H. Bates and Warren E. Miller said the furloughs could have been avoided if Democrats had cut spending more during the last session.
Bates called the furloughs "absurd," particularly given that this year's state operating budget is higher than last year's.
But Democrats say they've cut $2 billion to date, and more trimming is in the offing. They contend that Republican criticism is just political rhetoric.
"In effect, these furloughs are part of the cuts," said Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer, a Democrat and Senate majority leader. This year's small percentage spending increase merely reflects inflation, he said.
Most legislators see the donations idea as in keeping with legislators' donations to charities in 1992, the last time a bad economy forced employee furloughs. They see the contributions as a way to show empathy with state workers, even though donating money to charity won't help the state's bottom line.
"I think it's an appropriate suggestion from the speaker," said Del. Elizabeth Bobo, a Democrat. "The idea behind it is a just one."
