Roger that, Chris.
It is unfortunate. I had the misfortune (lol) of working at a federal Senator's office a few years back... Probably the worst job I've ever had. Not to mention I really didn't respect the Senator I was employed under, but I was hurting for work. People called all the time asking to talk to the Senator. I wanted to tell them that I WORK there and I haven't even SEEN the guy yet, but, of course, didn't. You basically just mark down one check mark per call about people in favor of this bill or against this bill, etc.
It seems so impersonal and frustrating though because if someone makes an honestly good point about the legislation, you can't send that forward to the senator, you have to just put it on the checkbox. He rarely reads comments, if at all.
But I wasn't aware the State Senators got paid so poorly. It must be only a part-time job for them, yeah? Maybe I should run... Heh.