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GAS PRICES FORCE LOOK AT FLEXTIME POLICY

By Rob Moritz/ARKANSAS NEWS BUREAU
Friday, May 16, 2008 10:35 PM CDT

LITTLE ROCK — The Legislative Council agreed Friday to study the possibility of allowing state employees who travel long distances to their jobs to go to a four-day work week in the face of rising gas prices.

The panel that oversees state business between legislative sessions also approved new rules on authorizing travel and reimbursement expenses for trips to regional and national meetings.

Sen. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, proposed the review of the state’s flextime policy to help state employees with fuel costs. He related the story of one state employee who lives in Warren and drives nearly 180 miles every day to and from her job in Little Rock.

“That’s a tremendous amount of driving,” Steele said. “There is a lot of pain out there, especially at the gas pump, and that has affected so many areas.”

Steele reminded committee members that most of them receive mileage reimbursement when they come to the state Capitol and said the study would examine how far some state employees drive to work and whether implementing a flexible four-day 10-hour a day work week would be feasible.

Flextime schedules would be allowed only as long as departments or agencies are adequately staffed during regular weekday business hours, the senator said.

“I think it has merit for us to look at that,” Rep. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, said after the meeting. “Alternative working arrangements are something the private sector has been doing for some years now.”

Rep. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, said he prefers the current policy, which allows state agencies to develop their own flextime policies and present them to the governor for approval.

Maloch also questioned why someone would live in Warren and work in Little Rock.

“I question whether they should look for a place closer,” he said.

The Legislative Council also endorsed a policy requiring legislators to submit cost estimates and receive prior approval from their committee chairs for travel and reimbursement expenses for attending most regional or national meetings.

Lawmakers would automatically qualify for travel reimbursements for attending Southern Legislative Conference, the National Conference of State Legislatures, Energy Council, Council of State Governments and American Legislative Exchange Council, or any their subcommittee meetings. However, they would have to submit a written request with information about the conference and their reason for attending.

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