Tennessee Lawmakers: We Get What We Pay For

Most of the folks who follow my blog probably don't remember all of the scandals in relevantly recent Tennessee political history. You weren't alive in early 1979 when Lamar Alexander was sworn in as governor three days ahead of schedule to stop the outgoing "Pardon Me" Ray Blanton from setting more prisoners free. 

You weren't around ten years later when Operation Rocky Top sent top members of our General Assembly to prison over corruption and bribery associated with charity bingo. The Tennessee Secretary of State committed suicide before scheduled grand jury testimony.

And you don't remember Operation Tennessee Waltz, which, per The Tennessean, nabbed seven state lawmakers from both parties in 2005 over bribery.

But you certainly could read about state representative Glen Casada of Williamson County and former aide Cade Cothren. Casada and Cothren were arrested August 23, 2022 on a twenty-count federal indictment. The charges in short consist of money laundering, fraud, theft, and bribery - Tennessean article by Mariah Timms.

And there is no excuse for any of the actions that led to the scandals mentioned above. But to attract the best and brightest folks in our state to run for public office, we must pay them what they are worth. The impact that state law has on our lives is worthy of the taxpayer expense to do so.

A glance at the National Conference of State Legislatures website indicates that, as of 2021, salaries paid across the country by the states are as diverse as the states themselves. Most states compensate legislators with per diem reimbursement for mileage, lodging and office expense. But the best metric in my view is the base pay. Most legislatures are part time, and some states pay by the day that legislators are in session.

California pays $114,877 per year. Of course, California is a huge state known to have a high cost of living. Alaska pays $50,400 per year. But the logistics of living in Alaska and getting around the state are pretty obvious.

Tennessee pays $24,316 per year. Our legislature, called the General Assembly, gavels into session in early to mid January. The session once normally dragged on into May and sometimes beyond Memorial Day into June. Currently, things are better organized, and the session normally ends in April.

Of course, members of the state House and Senate may have to return to Capitol Hill during the months that the legislature is not in session for committee work. Constituents have questions and issues at all times of the year, and offices must stay up and running. 

So thinking that being a member of the General Assembly is merely a January to April gig is not accurate. And $24,316 is simply not enough. Some states pay more. Some such as Texas ($7200 per year) and South Carolina ($10,400 per year) pay less. Alabama, at $51,734 per year, would seem to be setting a strong standard. 

I don't know all of the political history behind why our lawmakers don't pass laws to pay themselves more. Perhaps they fear a negative impact on their next campaign for re-election if they go on record as voting themselves a raise. What I do know is that the number of attorneys in the legislature has dwindled dramatically in recent decades. And I know of one situation from about ten years ago where a state representative did not run for re-election, stating that he had children entering college and could no longer afford to serve.

I suspect that many lawyers don't wish to have their pay cut just because they take time from their respective practices to serve in the legislature. Therefore, they don't serve.

Paying legislators more would not only attract better people. It would help create an environment where there is no temptation to pad your income with money collected through actions of bribery, fraud, theft, etc.

As publisher of Cloud Nine Higher, I market my blog/magazine brand to youthful adults in the Nashville area. I encourage all of you to know what is going on at all levels of government and to make your voice heard.

James A. Rose

Publisher