Yet again, a former state lawmaker will strike gold thanks to a quirky little loophole in state law that allows legislators to turn a pittance of a retirement benefit into something extraordinary. Gov. Butch Otter announced that former Senate Pro Tem Bob Geddes of Soda Springs will become the next director of the state Department of Administration. This will be Geddes’ second state executive branch stint; Otter had previously plugged him into an ill-fitting role at the state Tax Commission. Geddes didn’t stay long enough to trigger the pension spiking that comes into play once a legislator fills a full-time government job for 42 months. In an unusual move, Geddes left the Tax Commission to lobby for the Idaho Farm Bureau. Geddes’ new role at the Department of Administration will allow him to turn an otherwise miniscule annual pension into one paying in excess of $37,000, provided he clocks another 30 months in the position/Wayne Hoffman, Idaho Freedom Foundation. More here.

Question: The Idaho House approved a bill to end pension spiking, 38-32, before it died in the Senate. Do you know how your senator voted on this one?

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