LITTLE ROCK — Readers keep asking about House Speaker Robbie Wills. The short answer: Fuggedaboudit.
His able staff members in the Arkansas House of Representatives have told him that his personal use of a state-owned vehicle is tax-exempt, and he’s taking them at their word.
Besides, as his spokesman recently told a reporter, “there is no personal use” of Wills’ 2008 Chevy Tahoe because he is the House speaker “24/7.” In other words, if you see him cruising around Conway around midnight in search of a mini-mart at which to grab a scoop of Pralines ’n Cream or a lottery ticket, please note that he’s doing so in his official capacity of speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives.
You don’t think Arkansas taxpayers also buy his clothes and his groceries, do you? Maybe. On top of his salary and his car and his per diem, he gets a generous expense account as speaker. Lawmakers also accrue credit toward a state pension.
The office wag suggested that if Wills is speaker 24/7, he has only his fellow House members to blame; except for the voters in his district, none of the rest of us had any hand in his election to the House, and it was his fellow House members who selected him for the speakership. Maybe they should shoulder the cost of his care, feeding and transportation and give the rest of us a break.
On a related note, a number of readers say they are looking forward to November so that they can vote against state Treasurer Martha Shoffner. Lotsa luck with that one. She has no opposition-yet. She could still get a write-in or a Green Party opponent.
But give the devil his due. After an incredibly embarrassing public show of righteous indignation-more of a hissy fit, really-Shoffner had an epiphany. She now says she will pay taxes on any personal use of her state-owned 2009 Chevy Tahoe. Until recently, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel also drove a state-issued 2009 Tahoe.
State officials love those gas-guzzlers, don’t they? I wonder when was the last time a reporter looked at the type of vehicles being driven by state officials and how much they’re costing taxpayers.
Contrary to some claims, not all constitutional officers drive SUVs, just most of them. In addition to those three Tahoes, the tally includes a 2007 Ford Explorer, a 2007 Lincoln Town Car, a2008 Chevy Suburban, a 2008 Toyota Sequoia and a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado (the latter two used by outgoing state Land Commissioner Mark Wilcox for commuting and farming).
An illegal-exaction lawsuit seeking reimbursement for any personal use of state-owned vehicles-the lawyers count 8,635 of them-has been filed in Pulaski County by three “citizen taxpayers.” Not all those vehicles are or have been used by constitutional officers, of course. Citing the Arkansas Constitution, the lawsuit, which claims class-action status, is aimed at “elected constitutional officers, directors, commissioners, presidents or managers of state agencies or institutions, and state employees” who have used any state vehicles improperly. Yes, university officials are included. So are all legislators, not just the speaker of the House. So is commuting between home and office.
As was noted in a news release issued by the Hatfield & Sayre law firm, “This suit does not seek an answer to whether or not the personal use of such state-owned vehicles is a monetary benefit that is taxable to the elected official, agency head or state employee for federal or state income tax purposes. Instead, the issue presented in this suit is whether the state must be reimbursed for the personal use of such state-owned vehicles by these individuals as required by Arkansas law.”
Funny way to put it. If reimbursement is required by state law, of course it must be done. Lawyers really should stick to writing briefs and leave news releases to others, don’t you think?
But seriously, I know what the lawsuit intends, and it’s a valid issue to broach. To date, only Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and McDaniel have reimbursed the state for past personal use of a state-owned vehicle. Halter says he has done so all along. McDaniel fell into line after some initial resistance that included effectively accusing Halter of political posturing in the matter.
Associate Editor Meredith Oakley is editor of the Voices page.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 07/21/2010