Two freshman Democrats – Reps. Stephen Webber and Jason Kander  – have introduced a bill that would require the state to make up any loss in salary when state employees are deployed for military duty.

House Democrats will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. Monday to tout the bill (HB492)  as part of a package aimed at helping military families.

Kander, of Kansas City, is a military intelligence officer in the Army National Guard and served in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2007.  Webber, of Columbia, served two tours of duty in Iraq as a reservist in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Under the current system, most state employees receive three weeks of state pay when they are in military training or missions. After that, they draw only their military salaries.

However, there is an exception: Judges and elected officials draw both military and state salaries while they are on military duty.

The disparate treatment came to light last year because of the efforts of Lisa Kindle, whose husband, Greg Kindle, is a highway patrol captain. As we explained on the mother ship in October, Greg Kindle is losing about $20,000 a year by being deployed with the Missouri National Guard to Kosovo. However, a state workers compensation judge serving with him draws both his full state salary and his National Guard salary.

During his campaign for governor, Jay Nixon promised to address the issue by covering the pay gap for state employees. According to a study by the National Governors Association, 27 states and territories provide their state employees the difference between their regular pay and their National Guard pay when they are on active duty. Other states cover part of the difference.

But even if the pay gap is closed, elected officials and judges would still get a better deal. Because their salaries are set by statute, they would continue to draw their full state salaries while deployed.