"I know what poverty looks like, and I don't see a lot of poverty in the halls of the Alabama State House," Orr said when he announced he would donate his raise to charity in 2007. "There are people who can use this money a lot more than any of the lawmakers in Montgomery."
Nepal RPCV Arthur Orr accepts raise as State Senator in Alabama, but has released information detailing the charities and programs in his district on which he has spent the money
State senators rejecting pay raises?
By Sebastian Kitchen •
May 21, 2009
A majority of state senators and Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. have rejected their 3.8 percent pay raise this year, but few turned down the more than 60 percent raise lawmakers approved for themselves in 2007.
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Twenty-three of the 32 current members of the Senate -- Democrats and Republicans -- declined the cost-of-living raise this year, and many of those who are accepting it are giving the money to charities in their districts.
But only four of those senators have declined the pay raise the past three years, Republicans Ben Brooks of Mobile, Hank Erwin of Montevallo, Del Marsh of Anniston and Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb.
Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgomery, declined to take the raise this year and the large raise in 2007, but did not refuse a smaller 2.8 percent raise in 2008.
Lawmakers, as one of their first acts of business in this four-year term, approved a more than 60 percent increase for themselves in compensation, which includes pay, per diem, and expense allowances that now total about $52,600.
The annual raise is based on the Consumer Price Index, which went up 3.8 percent in the last year.
Lawmakers automatically received the $1,805 raise this year, but some members filed paperwork to decline the money.
Thirty-six members of the Alabama House of Representatives decided against taking the raise, according to the accounting and payroll department for the House. The Montgomery Advertiser previously reported which House members declined the raise. To see the story and the list of members go to montgomeryadvertiser.com.
Senators had longer to decide whether to decline the increase.
Some in the House and Senate accepted the raise, but donated the money to charities of their choice.
Dixon said there were many reasons he turned down the raise.
[Excerpt]
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, accepted the raises, but has released the information detailing the charities and programs in his district on which he has spent the money. These include schools, theaters, boosters, libraries, historical societies, Junior Miss, Habitat for Humanity and rescue squads.
Orr worked for three years in Bangladesh establishing a Habitat for Humanity program and also served in the Peace Corps, where he was a teacher in a remote village in Nepal.
"I know what poverty looks like, and I don't see a lot of poverty in the halls of the Alabama State House," Orr said when he announced he would donate his raise to charity in 2007. "There are people who can use this money a lot more than any of the lawmakers in Montgomery."
