The legislative process is one of offering ideas, in the form of proposed legislation. A key attribute of the legislative process is listening to differing ideas and opinions and making adaptions as needed. I filed Senate Bill 747 and soon realized that it might not have been as clear as I originally intended it to be.

The original legislation asked for a 15 percent increase on county sheriff salaries effective Jan. 1, 2017. It then asked for a second 10 percent pay increase that would be implemented on Jan. 1, 2021. Subsequently, from 2021 on, sheriffs would then receive a 5 percent increase at the beginning of each new term of office.
Questions were raised about where the money would come from and the county’s right to determine their sheriff’s salaries. I listened to the concerns of my constituents and chose to withdraw the proposed legislation.

Due to the expanding list of daily duties placed on county sheriffs, I still feel the increase is appropriate. While county sheriffs are elected and choose to run with the knowledge of their requirements and salary, many see a vast change in job requirements throughout their term. For this reason, I feel this issue needs to be addressed and I have proposed new legislation, Senate Bill 835. The new legislation still requires the same pay increases; however, it specifically targets from which funds the salary increases will be allocated and the dates of enactment.

The purpose of the legislation is to guarantee that county sheriffs are supplemented fairly from funds that only sheriffs are collecting. The Sheriff Civil Fund is comprised of money obtained from issuing summons, subpoenas and other orders of the courts. These are all state laws that county sheriffs must uphold and bring to justice the people who break them.

The new legislation will require the County Salary Commission to provide the pay increase through the Sheriff Civil Fund. In the circumstance that the fund cannot meet the requirements of the pay increase, the pay increase will freeze. At no time will the pay increase ever be funded from a county’s general revenue.

The county general revenue will still receive any amount above the $50,000 limit that has been placed on the Sheriff Civil Fund. This legislation proposes that a fraction of the money that is already being collected in the civil fund be allocated for a pay increase to the county sheriff. The newly enacted dates would be as follows: a 15 percent increase effective Sept. 1, 2014; a 10 percent increase effective Jan. 1, 2015; and a 5 percent increase at the beginning of each new term of office.

It is important to note that the office of sheriff differs from any other county office because they are required to conduct the state’s civil and criminal business at the county level, be licensed by the state as a peace officer, and enforce state law. These requirements give the sheriffs state responsibilities. As a reasonable result, a small pay increase to the salaries of county sheriffs is logical.

Following up on the governor’s proposed budget, I want to make sure that those who actively follow the budget process note the drastic decrease in funding. The 9.5 percent decrease in net state revenue is expected to result in quite a few changes in this year’s proposed budget. As always there is plenty of time between now and May to initiate a change. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any questions or concerns you might have.