• Mission & Governance
• Services Overview
• How to Get Involved
• Standing Committees
• NCSL Foundation

• Issue Areas: A-Z
• State-Federal Relations
• NCSL Standing Committees
• News from D.C. and the States

• About State Legislatures
• Elections, Campaigns & Redistricting
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory
• Web Sites

• Online Guide to NCSL Services
• Staff Sections and Networks
• Meetings & Professional Development
• Staff Directories

• Meetings Calendar
• Online Registration
• Meetings Home Page
• Legislative Summit

• Bookstore
• State Legislatures Magazine
• NCSL's StateConnect Directory

COMPENSATION COMMISSIONS

November/December 1999
Vol. 7, No. 47

Legislators' pay is one of the more politically charged issues in today's state legislatures. Just the mention of a possible pay raise causes an instant rise in constituent mail and phone calls, not to mention the interest of the media. And a vote for an increase can have serious repercussions when the next election rolls around. Given these factors, legislators clearly recognize the difficulty in raising their own pay.

In order to remove the issue from the political arena, 21 states currently use a compensation commission to provide an objective evaluation of legislators' salary levels. Members of the commissions are generally appointed by legislative leaders or the governor and represent a cross section of the citizenry. Sometimes, former legislators are included, but current elected officials and state employees generally are not. The commissions are given the charge to evaluate legislators' compensation, and make recommendations to the legislature based on a variety of objective criteria.

As they begin their evaluation process, the commissions collect a wide variety of information that usually includes the state's history on legislators' pay, how the current salaries compare with the executive branch officials, and whether or not salaries have kept pace with the consumer price index. Through public hearings, citizens have the opportunity to voice their opinions. Commissions make other comparisons between citizen and full-time legislatures, legislative session lengths, and salary and per diem levels in other states as reported in an annual survey by NCSL. They may also evaluate other aspects of compensation, such as travel and staff allowances, and supplemental stipends given to leaders or committee chairs. Each state's statutes or rules dictate the scope of the commission's jurisdiction.

One of the most important aspects of the commissions is their level of authority. In California, Oklahoma and Washington, the commission has complete control over legislators' salaries. Their decisions cannot be overruled by the legislature. In Delaware and Utah, the recommendations take effect unless the Legislature votes against them. In many states, the commissions play a purely advisory role. The recommendations are presented to the legislature and the legislators are put in the position of voting on their own pay. Arizona is the only state that places the commission's recommendation on the ballot for a vote of the people.

Generally, compensation commissions assess legislators' salaries and offer recommendations to their respective legislatures. The challenge comes when the recommendations are thrown back into the political arena and the members must once again address the question of raising their own pay. The legislators must find a salary level that will attract a diverse group of candidates and still be acceptable to the public. If the salary is too low, many smaller states fear that public office will only be an option for the affluent who can afford to take time off from their permanent jobs. If the salary is too high, the public will react negatively and voice their opinions through the ballot box. Depending on the current political climate, a pay raise may not be passed, despite a commission's strong recommendation to do so.

In some states, the commissions are dormant. Colorado passed its recent pay raise through the legislative process, despite the presence of a commission in its statutes. Kentucky and Massachusetts both have commissions, but they have not met in several years. In fact, Massachusetts voters passed a measure in 1998 that gives legislators an automatic increase or decrease according to the median household income for the preceding two-year period.

Still, other states continue to explore the compensation commission option or refine their current commission's structure. Maine established their commission in 1998 and New Jersey passed legislation in 1999 to create its commission.

In 1999, Utah legislators changed the authority level of the compensation commission. Before 1999, the commission's recommendations were only advisory and the commission met every year. Now, the commission's recommendations will take effect unless the Utah Legislature votes against them and the commission will meet every two years. As in most states, any change in Utah legislators' salaries cannot go into effect until after the next election.

******
"States With Compensation Commissions" is not availabe online. Please contact the author for a copy or view the Adobe Acrobat version. Adobe Version

Selected Reference

Legislative Management Program. 1999 Legislators' Compensation and Benefits Survey. Denver: National Conference of State Legislatures, 1999.

Contact for More Information

Johanna Donlin
NCSL-Denver
(303) 364-7700 ext. 130
jo.donlin@ncsl.org