McDaniel Calls For More Than Doubling Of AG Salary
by January 12, 2015 4:47 pm 117 views
Outgoing Attorney General Dustin McDaniel sent a letter to the Independent Citizens Commission on Monday (Jan. 12) calling on a more than doubling of the salary for the position he’s leaving.
McDaniel, a term-limited Democrat, will be replaced by Republican Leslie Rutledge on Tuesday.
“Arkansas is a $22.3 billion-per-year enterprise with the powers and duties of a sovereign state. Yet, since Reconstruction, the politics of compensation for public officials have led to hypocrisy, corruption, and ridiculous schemes,” McDaniel wrote.
Saying he was “uniquely situated” to speak on the AG’s salary, McDaniel argued that the level of education and licensing required to qualify for Attorney General lends itself to a higher salary from the current level of $73,172.
“Today, our elected prosecutors in Arkansas make $123,162. The General Counsel for the University of Arkansas makes $183,669. The Governor’s staff legal advisor earns $134,514. It is simply not reasonable for General Rutledge’s salary to remain so grossly incommensurate with these other state lawyers and her colleagues around the nation,” McDaniel said.
“I respectfully submit that you should increase the Attorney General’s salary to at least $165,000 per year,” he said, adding that expense reimbursements should also be allowed.
“The increase would still only bring the Attorney General into the range of being comparable with her colleagues within the state and around the nation,” he added.