Senator Jeremy Miller (R-Winona) has declined to accept his pay for the special session that started today, arguing that legislators should not get paid more when they fail to complete their work during the regular session.

“The last thing legislators should do is get paid overtime for not finishing our work on time,” Sen. Miller said. “My parents taught me to lead by example, which is why I am declining my special session pay. Additionally, I’m planning to introduce a bill next year to eliminate extra pay for legislators during special sessions that are called because the legislature fails to pass a balanced budget.”

“Unfortunately, special sessions have become far too common. Clearly something more needs to be done to encourage legislators to get done on time, because the constitutionally mandated adjournment date is not working,” Sen. Miller said. “One way to do that is to make sure legislators can’t collect any extra pay during a special session.”