The Tolbert Report

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued an opinion this morning on whether state officials are allowed to decline pay raises.  The opinion was in response to the State Chief Deputy Auditor Larry Crane who requested the opinion on behalf of “a Constitutional Officer and several members of the General Assembly.”  Feel free to read the opinion for the entire legalese but the basic conclusion is that state officials cannot reject the pay approved by the General Assembly.  The opinion states,

“The reasons for the rule are obvious. Where the compensation for an office has been fixed by law, it would be detrimental to the public service if the office could be let out to the lowest bidder. Laws designed to attract competent persons to public office by providing them with adequate compensation could be set at naught at the caprice of those charged with their administration. The effects on the efficiency and morale of the public service, if this were permitted, are not difficult to imagine.”

Although not mentioned directly in the opinion, its issuance is no doubt a result of Gov. Mike Beebe’s decision not to accept his pay raise back in January.  Spokesman for Gov. Beebe’s office, Matt DeCample tells the Tolbert Report today that they will still give the pay raise back to the state however the opinion allows.  “It appears now that will mean accepting the raise, paying the taxes on it, then cutting a check back to the State for the rest,”  said DeCample.