A full-time job requires a full-time salary – of $132,000 per annum.
That’s the thrust of a State Senate bill that’s become a political football in State Senator Martin Connor’s bid for re-election.
His bill, which was supported last year by a slew of borough legislators, including State Senators Eric Adams and Velmanette Montgomery, is currently being ballyhooed as a greedy cash grab by opponent Daniel Squadron.
The bill calls for an additional $52,000 a year for any state legislator – Assemblymember or State Senator – who certifies, in writing, that he wants to “serve in his house in the special capacity of full-time member.”
To receive this extra sum, the legislator must work at least 1,820 hours a year – which boils down to 35 hours a week – which must be backed up with time sheets. Their work week will include all legislative events, with the exception of any political campaign work.
If one decides to apply for the extra $52,000, they are not allowed to receive income from any other employer, cannot run a professional practice, receive money for any consulting services, or manage the assets of another person.
One can still receive the royalties from any books they’ve written, keep the money they’ve won in the lottery, disability payments, rents collected from properties they own — as long as they’re not managing the building – and income from businesses they own, as long as they don’t “actively manage” the business.
Currently, state legislators get upwards of $80,000 – not including hefty stipends of $10,000 to $15,000 for committee chairs and special positions like Minority Leader.
Connor said that the full-time upgrade is “an important reform bill to eventually eliminate any appearance that legislators have outside business interests.”
Many consider State Senators and Assemblymembers part-time lawmakers, because the legislative session goes on hiatus through the summer and they usually only vote on bills between Monday and Wednesday. The three-day work week usually extends to five days in June when legislators hammer out the budget.
Yet, if you ask our borough legislators, their job is not just voting on bills. They also have to maintain community offices, handle constituent problems and attend community meetings and functions – duties that turn a three-day work week to a seven-day work week.
“While I believe that any bill involving an increase in salaries needs to be put on hold right now because of the state’s current fiscal climate, we have to clear this up once and for all – this is not a part-time job, this is a full-time job,” said State Senator Adams. “The duties of the state do not permit a person to have a full-time occupation.”
Connor introduced the bill in May 2007. It’s currently being evaluated in the Senate’s Investigations and Government Operations Committee.
Squadron, who is running against the 30-year incumbent in this year’s primary, calls the legislation “a bonus bill.”
“It’s like Isiah Thomas giving himself a bonus for the job he did coaching the Knicks,” he said in a statement. “It’s these sorts of self-serving ideas that are exactly what’s wrong with Albany.”
“Millions of New Yorkers do full-time jobs for salaries much lower than the $80,000 State legislators make,” said Squadron, who has promised to become a full-time legislator if elected to office. “While Marty Connor clearly believes he should get an additional $52,000 bonus just for doing the job he was elected to do, in these economic times he’d be hard-pressed to find a single New Yorker who agrees.”
A Connor campaign spokesman said that the bill is to simply “give legislators the opportunity to dedicate all of their energies to the people they’re serving.”
“With the amount they are currently getting paid, it’s very difficult for some senators to hold onto the job without additional income,” the spokesperson said. “People should be paid as if it’s a full-time job and it should be promoted like a full-time job.”
