Posted by Phil Lee (216.250.238.17) on April 05, 2001 at 20:38:
Where Two Roles Collide
Citizen-Lawmakers Strain to Be Seen as Impartial
By Matthew Mosk Washington Post, April 5, 2001; Page A01
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Some employers who are forgiving enough to allow an employee that time off have dual motives: Lawmakers on staff can be a valuable asset to a company or public agency seeking influence in Annapolis.
When Del. Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) announced plans to leave the legislature and quit his job as an assistant superintendent with Anne Arundel's Recreation and Parks Department, his boss made no effort to conceal her reason for wanting to keep him.
"Mike is pivotal," said Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens, referring to Busch's role as a committee chairman, a position that gives him more clout than any of the county's other delegates in Annapolis. "I'd do whatever I could to keep him."
After she promoted Busch, and raised his annual salary from $50,000 to $69,519, he decided to stay in the legislature.
Government work is the most common outside job for lawmakers, according to an analysis of disclosure files by The Washington Post. Twenty-seven percent of lawmakers work for, or have retired from, public agencies that rely heavily on the state for everything from pensions to annual budgets.
A large percentage of those workin the public schools or as professors and administrators in state universities. Several either work for or have retired from state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Business and Economic Development and the Maryland State Police.
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The result, in fact, is that lawmakers are discouraged from recusing themselves, unless the lawmaker stands to reap a direct financial reward with the passage or failure of a bill.
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