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The December Surprise
Long time Capitol observers knew it was coming. After months of denials, the issue of a pay raise emerged last week. And even though legislative leaders publicly deny that there are discussions on the topic, everyone expects that an effort to boost the pay of state legislators will come to light this week. The smoke started to clear last week when Governor Pataki told the Associated Press that while he continues to oppose a pay raise for state lawmakers, "I've never drawn a line in the sand." But there is another reason. While the base salary for legislators is $79,500, most get additional stipends. These stipends supplement the salaries of any legislator who holds a leadership position. All heads of committees, and ranking minority party members, receive stipends, for example. The additional stipends range from a low of $9,000 and to a whopping $41,500. Every Senator receives a stipends, as does every Assembly Republican. However, only about half of the Assembly Democrats are able to get a stipend. Since there are so many Democrats in the Assembly (numbering 105 of the 150 members), not all of them qualify for these stipends. Do legislators deserve a raise? Of course that depends on how you view the issue. Legislators say “yes.” They argue that the last pay raise went into effect in January 1999 and that the cost of living has increased considerably over the past seven years. Opponents argue that that legislators don’t deserve a pay raise when state budgets have been chronically late, when scandals have been rampant, and when so many critical issues have been unaddressed. Opponents also argue that even though the base pay for state legislators is third highest in the nation (behind California and Michigan), when the additional stipends are added in the average pay is highest in America. Moreover, opponents point to the stealth process by which salary increases have been historically approved. The last pay raise was approved in December 1998, right after an election and right after months of denials that such a pay hike was under discussion. Sound familiar? It’s the exact same scenario today. It appears that the governor is willing to approve a pay raise if he gets legislative consent of two of his pet causes in return. It has been reported that the governor is looking to get action on a measures dealing with violent sex offenders and increasing in the number of charter schools as trade for legislative pay raises. If legislators want a pay raise, they should be required to give up some of the goodies they get from private, special interests. Unfortunately, the governor is not interested in forging this type of agreement. If the pay hike is approved, it’ll be up to the new governor to force real change in Albany. That’s all for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Capitol and will talk to you again next week. |
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