Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

Texas GOP lawmakers hired ghost workers too, Democrats note

By JOHN MORITZ

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

AUSTIN -- The political dust-up over whether some Texas House members are hiring so-called ghost workers -- who received state benefits without devoting at least 40 hours a week to their jobs -- escalated Thursday with Democrats pointing out that Republican members have also engaged in the practice.

Glenn Smith, a veteran Democratic operative who heads the Progress Council, distributed documents showing that two members of House Speaker Tom Craddick's leadership team were either classifying low-wage staff members as full time, or paying them full-time wages from the state payroll and full-time wages from their political account.

"I'm not saying there's anything illegal about that," Smith said. "Just as I'm saying there's nothing illegal with what [some Democratic members] are doing. What's outrageous is that Craddick is using the resources of the House to try and gain an advantage over some of his adversaries."

Craddick has ordered two House committees to examine whether any members have violated House rules or state law with their hiring and payroll practices. He's also asked the attorney general's office and the state auditor along with the Travis County district attorney's office to look into the matter. The furor erupted after a series of reports by the Austin American-Statesman detailed the practice.

The articles said two Craddick critics -- Democratic state Reps. Jim Dunnam of Waco and Craig Eiland of Galveston -- had hired former House members as low-paid full-time workers. By continuing on the state payroll, the former members can build up service time that could sweeten their retirement packages.

The paper also said one of Craddick's Republican critics, Rep. Byron Cook of Corsicana, was carrying a full-time staffer while she attended graduate school out of state.

Smith, a former staffer in the Texas Senate, said it's been a long-standing practice in the Capitol for lawmakers' aides to log 70- or 80-hour workweeks during the intense 140-day legislative sessions and occasional special sessions, then scale their hours way back once the sessions ended.

Expecting staffers to adhere to a year-round 40-hour workweek in the Capitol environment is unrealistic, he said.

He said state Rep. Tony Goolsby, a Dallas Republican who heads the House Administration Committee, has had at least four ghost workers in recent years. Last week, Goolsby wrote a letter to each House member admonishing them to make sure their staff payrolls were on the up-and-up and warning them that their practices would be reviewed to ensure compliance with House rules.

After being informed that he had paid four staffers what amounted to part-time wages while classifying them as full time, Goolsby told the American-Statesman that, in hindsight, he should have designated them as part-timers.

State Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican and Craddick ally who heads the House Regulated Industries Committee, rejected Smith's assertion that he was also employing two ghost workers. The two staffers were receiving full-time wages from both the state payroll and from King's political campaign account.

"The people that I have on the payroll as full-time work full time for the state of Texas," King said. "Do I supplement their pay [with political funds]? Yes. That's the only way I can keep good people on staff. The fact is, under House rules, we don't get enough money to pay good people what they're worth."

So then, Smith asked, why all the uproar? If some members choose to stretch their payrolls by hiring more people at lower wages, House rules and custom gives them that discretion, he said.

Craddick spokeswoman Alex DeLee said the speaker ordered the inquiries to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

"The public deserves to be confident that the House operates with integrity, and the speaker remains confident that the House does so," DeLee said. "Members and citizens alike would expect the House to act responsibly when these kinds of questions are raised.

"The questions were properly forwarded to the House General Investigating Committee, which oversees issues of employees and payroll. The committee's attention to such matters is not with the intent to implicate or exonerate any member, but to determine the facts and thereafter recommend any appropriate action by the House."