Furlough watch: Del. J.B. Jennings
Del. J.B. Jennings is fulfilling his commitment to make good on giving up five days of pay which legislators were asked to forgo earlier this year.
Jennings, a Republican who represents the 7th District, sent a letter to the state Department of Human Resources requesting that 15 days be withheld from his legislative pay. Ten of those days are part of a voluntary furlough request House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller asked legislators to participate in back in August.
The additional five days are part of a request Busch and Miller made of legislators in December.
Jennings’ office provided a copy of the Sept. 9 letter at my request.
By law, legislators who earn $43,500 annually cannot be forced to take a pay cut once his or her term begins. They also cannot receive a raise during the four-year term.
Patuxent Publishing Co., publishers of this Web site, requested from the state a list of legislators who voluntarily gave up pay in that first round. All but four of the 29 delegates and senators from Baltimore County volunteered to give up pay. Jennings was one of those legislators who did not.
Jennings said in August he believed he had given verbal authorization to state human resources officials to withhold five days’ pay. One day of pay equals $120.84 after taxes, according to the state Department of Legislative Services.
Jennings added that if those days were not deducted he would do so in this latest round of furlough days.