Some legislators are quitting due to low pay, long sessions and bad economy

It could be the economy. Or maybe it’s the ever-lengthening sessions. Or the relatively low pay -- $17,342 a year plus per diem.

Whatever the reason, both the state Senate and House of Representatives will likely see unusually high turnover this year. Qualifying for all 236 legislative seats and a long list of other offices begins Monday at the Capitol even as the current legislative session grinds on. It will continue through Friday.

“Turnover could be 10 percent or more in the House this time,” said House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons), who is calling it quits. “A lot of people are just tired of the constant cynicism and criticism.”

Said the 60-year-old Keen of his decision to leave: “Ten years is long enough. I never wanted to be one of those guys shuffling around the hallway when somebody had to say, ‘Tell that guy to go home.' ”

Keen said that of the 180 House members he began serving with in 2001, only 61 are left in the chamber today. He predicted a turnover of 30 percent or more over the next few election cycles.

In the Senate, the change has been even more profound. At least 11 senators who were in office in January 2009 have either resigned or announced their retirements from the 56-member chamber.

At least two of those, Eric Johnson of Savannah and Jeff Chapman of Brunswick, are now running for the GOP nomination for governor.

University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock said legislative turnover is unusually high for this late in a redistricting cycle, the time when political boundaries are redrawn. Most lawmakers are firmly settled into their decade-old districts by this time.

Some lawmakers have left to run for higher office. Some, such as Sen. Don Thomas (R-Dalton), are retiring after years at the Capitol. One former senator, David Adelman of Atlanta, left to become the U.S. ambassador to Singapore.

Rep. Roger Williams (R-Dalton) had announced plans to retire from the House after this session but then changed his mind.

Williams said Friday that he wants to continue helping with the state budget, and when reapportionment takes place, he’ll be pushing a congressional seat for his part of northwest Georgia, something that’s not happened in years.

“I would wonder if some people aren’t leaving because of financial challenges associated with the recession,” Bullock said. “Some people probably can’t afford to be at the Capitol in this climate.”

Keen agreed the recession is having an impact on turnover.

“It’s one thing to do this job for $17,000 a year when your business is doing fine,” Keen said. “It’s another thing altogether when it isn’t so good.”

The high turnover, Bullock said, will work to the advantage of the new governor selected by state voters in November.

“A lot of new people [lawmakers] will show up and they will be looking for cues,” Bullock said. "They will be more likely to be receptive to the new governor’s agenda.”

Lawmakers leaving after this session include:

• House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) and Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton), who are running for governor. Scott, though, in the past week has flirted with the idea of challenging incumbent Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle instead.

• Rep. Tom Knox (R-Cumming), who is leaving to run for insurance commissioner, as are Sens. Seth Harp (R-Midland) and Ralph Hudgens (R-Hull).

• Reps. Melvin Everson (R-Snellville) and Mark Butler (R-Carrollton), who are running for labor commissioner.

• Sen. Gail Buckner (D-Jonesboro), who is running for secretary of state.

• Reps. Mike Keown (R-Coolidge), Clay Cox (R-Atlanta) and Tom Graves (R-Ranger), and Sen. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), who are seeking election to Congress. Keown is running in the 2nd District, and Cox ia candidate in the 7th District.; Graves and Hawkins are opponents in the 9th District.

• Rep. Bob Lane (R-Statesboro), who is retiring after 30 years in office. Lane is chairman of the House Game, Fish and Parks Committee.

• Reps. Jim Cole (R-Forsyth), Burke Day (R-Tybee Island) and Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek), who are also retiring.

In addition to the candidates for governor and the Legislature, others who also must qualify include contenders for one of Georgia's U.S. Senate seats, all 13 U.S. House seats and every statewide constitutional office.

Qualifying typically takes place in the House and Senate chambers of the Capitol, where candidates file paperwork and pay their registration fees to their chosen party. But this year, the House and Senate chambers will be busy on Tuesday and Thursday as the General Assembly wraps up its 2010 session. On those days candidates will file in a pair of committee rooms on the Capitol's second floor.

Among the announced candidates for governor, uncertainty exists for a few. Newcomer Ray Boyd has yet to resolve a running battle with the state GOP over his refusal to sign a loyalty oath to the Republican Party. The party requires the oath of all its candidates and has rejected Boyd's offer of a compromise. Boyd has said he won't sign the oath, but if he doesn't or a deal isn't reached, he won't be allowed to qualify as a Republican.