Double-dipping investigation

Rep. Allen Kerr (R-Little Rock), bolstered by press from the Arkansas Times and now from the Arkansas News Bureau, is working to try and uncover a scheme whereby elected county officials are temporarily "retiring" while actually working for free for a short time for purposes of being able to draw a paycheck and receive retirement benefits for the same job at the same time. A 1999 law allowed state workers to return to work after retiring for 30 days to receive their regular pay plus retirement benefits. This was apparently done in an effort to attract longtime Capitol employees back in place after term limits went into effect in order to maintain some institutional knowledge. We extended that time period from 30 days to 180 days in the last legislative session. The rationale for having such a policy is obviously made for state employees, but elected officials? Common sense says this can't be legal, and there's an AG opinion that corroborates that. If it's questionable, that loophole needs to be closed.