Delegates Bates and Miller say “No Thanks.”

According to this story by Aaron C. Davis in The Washington Post, Delegates Warren Miller and Gail Bates are the only Howard County state legislators who have not agreed to symbolically forfeit some of their state pay in a show of solidarity with state employees. Due to the state budget crisis, all state employees were forced to take up to 10 days without pay this year.

Senators Allan Kittleman, Jim Robey and Ed Kasemeyer agreed to return a portion of their state pay along with Delegates Guy Guzzone, Frank Turner, Liz Bobo and Shane Pendergrass.

While the gesture is nice it still doesn’t quite add up to the sacrifice the employees are being forced to make.

“State lawmakers (who work a 90-day legislative session, attend meetings in between, and often hold other paying jobs) have calculated the amount they will return to the state treasury based on a theoretical 365-day work year. That means for 8 days pay they lose $966.72. State workers making the same amount had to give up $1,338.46, based on a 40-hour work week.”

This should provide some juicy campaign mud for anyone challenging Bates and Miller in 2010.