The talk of a special legislative session heated up last week.  State legislators – particularly those in the Assembly – were still smarting from the governor’s moves to kill their long-awaited pay increase.  In 2015, the governor and the legislature created a pay commission to establish whether lawmakers – and top ranking members of the executive branch – should get a pay hike, and if so how much.

There hadn’t been a pay increase for lawmakers since 1999 and they assumed that this commission would approve one.  Billed at the time as an independent commission, it turned out to be anything but that.  The governor’s appointees apparently took direction from him and killed the pay increase proposal after the governor stated his opposition, unless lawmakers agreed to ethics reforms.

Last week, the governor unveiled a new package of changes that he wanted, tying it to a pay increase.

If state lawmakers return for a special legislative session this month, the governor not only wants additional ethics changes, he wants financing for a new hate-crime task force and reforms for the state and New York City university systems.

The governor also proposed two amendments to the state’s Constitution that would create a full-time legislature with four-year terms and set term limits for officials that hold statewide posts.

The legislature reacted with hostility, essentially saying that the governor’s linkage of these items to a pass raise was the equivalent of legislative extortion.  And they have a point, it has happened before.

The last time a pay raise was approved; then-Governor Pataki tied pay increases to policies that established charter schools, a budget reform measure and a dairy farm mandate.

Depending how you feel on those issues, of course, may determine whether you think it was a good idea for Governor Pataki to extract them as the price of a pay hike.  But is it right?

The point of the commission was to stop the legislative stick up process and instead try to depoliticize salaries.  Unfortunately for New Yorkers, neither the governor nor the legislative leaders were ever serious about setting up an independent pay commission.  What they really wanted was a pay increase – for both the legislative and executive branches – without them having to take a public position or take a tough vote.

Ironically, playing games with the commission has come back to bite lawmakers.  Whatever they agreed to in order to get the commission was now given away for free and the legislature now faces a governor determined to extract even more.

What should happen?

No one should go nearly two decades without a pay raise.  While New York legislators are currently the third highest paid in the nation, California is number one and pays its lawmakers $100,000.

Should New York lawmakers be the highest paid after essentially failing to deliver real corruption busting ethics reforms?  Absolutely not.

The governor and the legislature should create a real independent compensation commission, not filled with their allies, but with individuals who have no skin in the game – other than the public’s best interests.

Should the legislature capitulate to the governor in order to get a pay hike?  I say no.  Some of the governor’s plans – such as changing the state constitution to allow lawmakers to run for office less frequently, deserves a real public debate – not a rush job.

But let’s get a real independent commission.  And the governor and lawmakers should really tackle the culture of corruption at the state Capitol.