In this 2014 photo, Sen. Jeff King, left, and Sen. David Haley, right, confer with Sens. Susan Wagle and Anthony Hensley about a proposed amendment to a bill. When the 2017 session convenes in January, Haley will be the only member of the Senate holding a law degree, and even he is not currently licensed to practice law.

Topeka ? State Sen. David Haley will be in a unique position next year. It’s not one that he ever wanted, and one he says will be personally daunting.

When the 2017 Legislature is sworn into office Jan. 9, Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, will be the only member of the Kansas Senate with a law degree. And even he is not a licensed, practicing attorney because he allowed his license to lapse more than 20 years ago when he was pursuing a different career.

“As many people realize, Kansas has never had this happen before,” Haley said. “There’s always been a practicing attorney or licensed attorney.”

Researchers in the Kansas State Library confirmed this past week that since Kansas became a state in 1861, there has never been a time when there were no licensed attorneys in the Senate. But the 2017 session will put an end to that streak. And that could present problems for an institution whose very purpose is to write and amend laws.

But people who study state governments say it has been a trend nationwide for the last several decades as attorneys find it increasingly hard to maintain a practice while also working long hours at relatively low pay in politics, where it is now easier than ever before to make enemies out of current or potential clients.

“That’s been the national trend for the last 20 to 30 years,” said Brian Weberg, director of legislative studies at the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A review by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 2015 found there has been a steady drop in both the number of attorneys and farmers serving in state legislatures around the country, and the dropoff in attorneys has been most pronounced in states that pay their legislators the least.

During the 2015 and 2016 sessions, according to NCSL, attorneys made up only 10 percent of the total Kansas Legislature. That’s lower than the national average of 14 percent. But most of those attorneys were serving in the House, while there were only two practicing attorneys in the Senate.

Sen. Terry Bruce, R-Hutchinson, who had been majority leader in the Senate was defeated for re-election in the Aug. 2 primaries. And Jeff King, R-Independence, the Senate vice president and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, chose not to run again this year.

“We have a dual combination in the Kansas Legislature of low pay and a relatively long work schedule,” King said in a telephone interview this past week.

In Kansas, lawmakers receive $7,083 a year in direct salary, plus mileage and per diem expenses, which brings the total to around $21,000 a year, according to the Division of Legislative Administrative Services.

In the few states where lawmakers earn less, King said, legislative sessions tend to be shorter, and some state legislatures only meet every other year.

In Kansas, though, sessions traditionally last 90 days, or about one-fourth of the year, and some have gone well beyond that mark in recent years. Plus, King said, lawmakers devote a significant amount of time to constituent business throughout the year.

In addition to the low pay, however, King said there are two other significant factors that make it hard for attorneys to serve in government, especially for those who work in larger law firms.

One, he said, is the fact that serving in the Legislature takes time away from an attorney’s practice, reducing their billable hours for the year. But the other is the very nature of modern politics itself.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, a young lawyer could run for the Legislature, win, gain notoriety for their work in the legislature and use that to help build a practice,” King said. “Today, in large part, it works exactly the opposite.”

“If you run for the Legislature, you’ll be forced to vote on tough issues,” he said. “Those votes will upset people. Some of those people are clients or potential clients, and being in the Legislature actually makes it harder to secure and keep business rather than easier.”

Haley, who has a limited practice working pro se only for businesses and organizations in which he’s personally involved, said he has considered trying to reactivate his license, but he said that would be problematic.

Because he has been out of practice so long, he would have to take the Kansas Bar examination, which is given in February when the Legislature is in session. And he doubts he would have the time it takes to prepare for such a difficult test.

“I’ve given it some thought but haven’t reached a conclusion,” he said. “I’m focused on representing my district.”

Meanwhile, though, Haley said he thinks that not having any practicing attorneys in the Senate weakens the institution.

“I believe that lawmakers should have some framework or concept in certain areas, like the judiciary committees, and the theory and practice of law,” he said. “I’m glad to be legally trained and to have had those experiences and that ability, but as a nonpractitioner, and yet a lawyer, I feel we’ve reached a low-water mark on that committee, and in the Senate.”