Every year, on the second Wednesday of January, committee rooms, chambers and hallways are filled with more than 150 part-time employees who arrive for the start of the regular session.
During session, employment numbers more than double to take on the extended workloads. According to the Senate Payroll Office, per diem, or “day-to-day,” employees outnumber full-time employees 89 to 40. House employment is similar with 67 per diem employees to 51 full-time employees.
The sudden surge in work and employees is nothing new; in fact, many per diem employees come back from year to year to fill the void. Workloads in departments such as Clerks’ Offices, Bill Drafting, Duplicating and the Journal Room grow to be so large that it would be impossible to accomplish the work without additional help.
A variety of legislative positions are open to individuals interested in working during the 60-Day Regular Session. Following interviews, potential per diem employees are recommended to the Senate President or the Speaker of the House by committee chairmen or department heads. Upon approval, the per diem staffer is assigned a placement.
“All new and returning per diem employees are required to submit an application with my office each year to be considered for employment,” Senate Clerk Darrell Holmes said. “Employment with the Senate is conditional and all Senate personnel serve at the will and pleasure of the President of the Senate.”
Although per diem employment by recommendation is how most positions are filled, there are exceptions. The Sergeants-at-Arms and Head Doorkeepers are elected by lawmakers in their respective chambers. The duties of the Sergeants-at-Arms include maintaining order in the hall, lobby, or galleries, and see that the hhamber has proper upkeep. The Head Doorkeeper, and his appointed assistant doorkeepers, are responsible for helping the Sergeant-at-Arms maintain decorum and exclude all guests lacking floor privileges.
For many per diem employees, the concept of leaving and returning has become natural. Once the regular session ends, the jobs of per diem workers conclude until they are needed again.
Bill Drafting employs 13 per diem workers whose jobs are to proofread, track and re-write bills – also, five per diem attorneys are hired to assist in legal processes.
“They do a lot of the grunt work,” Ralph Kent of Bill Drafting said. “They help with the immense amount of bills that come through here every day.”
Many per diem employees in Bill Drafting are able to draw from a wealth of experience. One per diem employee has been in the department for more than 33 years – and it does not stop here – another part-time employee of the House Clerk’s Office has been coming back for 18 years.
“Due to the nature of what we do, the constraints we have, rules and deadlines, it is critical we have a good team of staff,” House Clerk Greg Gray said.
As Journal Room employee Delores Baker stated, “We couldn’t do it without them.” The jobs of Journal Room employees range from distributing legislation, to copying bills, to preparing legislators’ bill books.
Approximately 2,500 bills are introduced each Session and the Journal Room prints roughly 250 bills a day. They also send bills through the mail, by fax and via e-mail. A workload this size could not be done without the nine additional sets of helping hands.
Per diem employees act as a safety net for the legislative session, ensuring that all obligations are met and all tasks are completed. An ancient African proverb states: “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” If that stands true, then it can also be said that it takes a per diem staff to keep the West Virginia Legislature afloat.
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