LITTLE ROCK -- Arkansas' top elected officials are set to receive substantial pay raises -- with legislators poised to see their salaries more than double -- under a plan given final approval Monday, despite objections that the public had little influence on the move.
The Independent Citizens Commission voted 5-2 to adopt its review of salaries for Arkansas' legislators, constitutional officers and judges. The seven-member panel was created by a voter-approved constitutional amendment to set salaries for the state's top elected officials. The pay raises for constitutional officers and judges take effect in 10 days, while the legislative salary hikes are tied to the House and Senate eliminating office reimbursements to lawmakers.
The pay increase proposals were adopted after the panel debated whether they had flexibility to change the salaries included in an initial review approved last month. A plan to ask for a legal opinion from the attorney general's office was scuttled after a majority of commissioners said they still supported the pay hikes.
"If we aren't going to consider public comment, whether we agree with it or not, we aren't going to have the flexibility to make changes, then something's wrong with the way (the amendment) was written," said Chairman Larry Ross, who voted against the pay raises. "I'm not going to rubber stamp something just because I had something in my mind initially."
The biggest pay raise under the plan would be for House and Senate members, who would see their salaries increase from $15,869 a year to $39,400. Salaries for the House speaker and Senate president would increase from $17,771 to $45,000.
The panel called for the pay hike after legislative leaders agreed to eliminate the up to $14,400 in reimbursements that lawmakers can receive for office expenses. The reimbursements have been the focus of criticism in recent years, with a lawsuit three years ago prompting the Legislature to agree to stricter accounting of lawmakers' expense requests.
The commission said the House and Senate pay raises would take effect 10 days after the governor signs into law legislation eliminating the reimbursements. Senate President Jonathan Dismang said he expected the Legislature to move quickly on identical bills to end the payments after amendments were filed Monday afternoon.
The raises are expected to cost the state about $5 million. Salaries for the elected officials were previously set by the state constitution, which allowed the Legislature to make annual cost-of-living adjustments. Any salary adjustments the commission makes in the future can't exceed 15 percent.
The panel's vote raises pay for the state's constitutional officers, except the lieutenant governor -- whose salary would remain at $42,315. The governor's pay would increase from $87,759 a year to $141,000, while the attorney general's pay would rise from $73,132 to $130,000. The panel is calling for more modest raises for the state's judges, including members of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
The commission has received dozens of emails objecting to the pay raises, including criticism that the move would create a full-time Legislature and that the pay hikes dwarf the cost-of-living raises that state employees receive.
"I don't know how the commission can ignore that," said Commissioner Stuart Hill, who also voted against the raises.
Vice Chairman Chuck Banks said he didn't believe the commission was ignoring the public reaction to the raises.
"I personally am quite proud we were able to get focused, get on it and do like the citizens expected us to do, and get up here and get the job done and go home," Banks said.
The panel may meet again soon. The Arkansas House gave final approval Monday afternoon to legislation requiring the commission also set salaries for the state's prosecutors.
State Desk on 03/17/2015