Orrock wants legislators treated same as other workers

RICHMOND

But they're also state employees themselves, technically.

Now Del. Bobby Orrock has a bill that would automatically apply to state legislators any change to compensation or fringe benefits that the General Assembly applies to state workers.

That means if the legislature votes to cut state worker pay, their own pay gets cut. If lawmakers give a pay raise, they'd get one, too, without having to approve a separate bill.

And if they approve this year a bill that would require all current and future state workers to pay the employee contribution to the Virginia Retirement System, legislators would have to do so, as well.

The only caveat, under the constitution, is that the pay raise or cut wouldn't apply to legislators until they're elected to their next term.

"We are and always have been de facto state employees," Orrock said. "Everything we do to state employees, we should be doing to ourselves. We should not put ourselves above any other state employee."

His bill has been referred to the House Committee on General Laws.

--Chelyen Davis