State Lawmaker Draws Full-Time Federal Salary

When it comes to taxpayer-funded payrolls, Eric Bedingfield might have one of the most unusual working arrangements in the United States.

The 46-year-old Republican is a state House member representing part of Greenville County in the northwestern part of the state. He also is deputy chief of staff for GOP U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney of Lancaster County, a former state lawmaker whose 5th Congressional District includes 11 counties on the state’s northeast side.

On top of that, Bedingfield is Mulvaney’s campaign manager. Mulvaney in 2010 defeated longtime Democratic Congressman John Spratt of York County.

Both his staff and campaign positions with Mulvaney are part-time jobs, Bedingfield reported on an income-disclosure form that he voluntarily submitted last week to the South Carolina Policy Council – The Nerve’s parent organization – as part of the Policy Council’s “Project Conflict Watch,” an initiative launched in April to encourage state officials to publicly reveal the sources of their private income.

Contacted last week by The Nerve, Jon Kuhl, spokesman for the National Conference of State Legislatures, which has offices in Washington, D.C., and Denver, said he couldn’t recall another recent example of a state lawmaker being on the payroll of a U.S. congressman or senator.

“It’s not a very common practice,” said Garrett Snedeker, editor of the Washington, D.C.-based LegisStorm, an online provider of in-depth information about members of Congress and their staffs, when contacted by The Nerve.

Bedingfield wasn’t asked on the Policy Council’s income-disclosure form to reveal how much he makes working for Mulvaney. The Nerve’s review of federal and state records found that his taxpayer-funded pay as a part-time employee on Mulvaney's staff is far more than what most South Carolinians likely would consider a typical part-time wage.

As Mulvaney’s deputy chief of staff, Bedingfield earned a taxpayer-funded salary of $74,315 in 2012, according to his required statement of economic interests that he filed with the State Ethics Commission on April 18. LegiStorm records show that he was paid $78,840 in 2012 and $18,000 for the first three months of this year.

Federal Election Commission records show that as Mulvaney’s campaign manager, Bedingfield received $33,670 in pay in 2012 from Mulvaney’s campaign account. When combined with his salary as a member of Mulvaney’s congressional staff, as reported on his state income-disclosure form, and $22,400 in reportable income as state lawmaker, Bedingfield’s total income last year for his three part-time jobs came to $130,385.

“I’m good at my job; I work hard,” Bedingfield told The Nerve when contacted Saturday. “A (state) legislator’s salary can’t pay enough to feed four children.”

Read the full story at TheNerve.org.