Why pay state lawmakers for work not done?
8/20/2015, 10:55 p.m. | Updated on 8/20/2015, 10:56 p.m.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe says that last Monday’s special session of the General Assembly will cost $40,000. Most of that, I presume, is the per diem compensation and expenses going to General Assembly members for the day’s “work.”
However, the special session was called to draw a new congressional redistricting plan to comply with a federal court order. The General Assembly never got around to this bit of work. Or put another way, they never fully tried to do the very work for which they were called to do on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Why, then, should they be paid?
They also decided to deal with the Virginia Supreme Court justice matter. This, however, is not germane to the governor calling them into special session for redistricting.
Bottom line: The General Assembly is only entitled to this extra pay and expenses due to the governor asking them to come to Richmond to address redistricting. The General Assembly never addressed it, by any fair definition of the term.
Therefore, they didn’t earn the money.
They shouldn’t be paid. What’s fair is fair.
PAUL GOLDMAN
Richmond
