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 The Effects Behind the Legislative Pay Issue
by Tom Campbell
April 19, 2007
Why are our lawmakers so timid about addressing the issue of how much they are compensated for performing the people’s business? Presumably, many are bashful about raising their compensation because they fear how it will be viewed. They are worried about the wrong thing. Our legislators ought to be more worried about their performance, not about how much they are paid to perform it.
No one should seek legislative office for the compensation, even though we know some depend on their pay and benefits for their subsistence. Neither should anyone be excluded from serving because they cannot afford to serve. The fact that our legislators haven’t had an increase in their compensation since 1994 effectively restricts many. We end up with a legislature comprised of the wealthy, the retired, or those representing special interests. The suggestion is that many will not offer themselves because of the poor pay and long hours. If compensation is preventing us from getting the best and the brightest we need to eliminate this excuse.
Comparisons with neighboring states indicate that our legislative pay isn’t terribly out of line. Where compensation becomes problematic is in the number of days our lawmakers spend on the job. Our neighbors restrict the length of legislative sessions and we cannot see where these states are suffering because of these limitations. Our legislative leaders have resisted the notion of session limits, but one way to achieve the same result is to either eliminate the 4 per diem allowance altogether or cut it off after a prescribed number of days.
The suggestion that an independent commission be formed to address this topic is a bad one. Who would appoint the members to such a commission? What would qualify the members as experts on pay? Why would the public have any more confidence in their recommendations as we do our legislators? If our lawmakers are capable of resolving a twenty billion dollar budget and passing sensitive laws affecting our people, shouldn’t they also be able to attend to the issue of their compensation?
Raising legislative pay from ,000 to ,000 per year for 170 people is of no matter to a twenty billion dollar budget and should not be a major concern to our citizens. We strongly endorse a pay hike to compensate our legislators for their service, but this should be accompanied by examination as to how well they are performing their jobs. That is the real issue and one that should be dealt with openly and honestly. |
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