This is obviously a response to media pressure, but a needed step nonetheless,

Senate President Pro Tem Lowell Barron on Tuesday appointed a committee to review pay for Senate staff, according to a memo from his office.

Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, will chair the bipartisan five-member committee. It is charged with “address(ing) issues related to compensation of Senate staff.”

Figures could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The Mobile Register reported Nov. 9 that some state senators had doled out more than $200,000 in extra pay to certain Senate employees during the last two years. Amid a state financial crisis, payments had ranged from supplements of a few hundred dollars per paycheck to one-time bonuses of several thousand dollars, state payroll records showed.

According to several Senate officials, the extra money is well-deserved by secretaries and clerks with added responsibilities. The officials noted that legislative employees do not qualify for overtime pay despite their long and often unpredictable hours during legislative sessions.

Both sides have a point. The employees did deserve extra pay for the late hours, but theere should be a policy as to what that amount is, rather than leaving it to a chairman’s discretion.

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