Pennsylvania state lawmakers will get an automatic pay raise

Not only are Pennsylvania taxpayers stuck funding the most expensive full-time state legislature in the country, but they must also cough up more money each year to give the 253 state lawmakers a pay  raise. Do the lawmakers deserve more money? It doesn't matter. The Legislature passed a bill granting its members automatic pay raises every year - unless they vote to reject the additional pay. That has never happened yet. So dig deeper fellow taxpayers. The political class wants more of your money.

From WITF:

State lawmakers will get an automatic pay raise:
Automatic pay raises have caused controversy in the past. When lawmakers return to the Capitol after their Thanksgiving recess, they'll have a little extra cash waiting for them. Every year, salaries for
elected officials are reevaluated based on the cost of living. The number varies--this year, it's .81 percent, which means the average salary for a lawmaker will increase by about $700, from $86,480 dollars to $87,180. Those in leadership positions make even more. The top salaries hover around almost $140,000. The yearly pay adjustment became fully automatic in 1995. But because automated pay raises can be unpopular, some opt to donate the extra cash, or feed it back to the state Treasury. Pennsylvania's lawmakers are the second-highest-paid in the country, behind only California....

Pennsylvania lawmakers anticipate annual pay raise

The base salary of a Pennsylvania state legislator is $79,613 and these "public servants" will receive a COLA on Dec. 1 under a 1995 law that automatically raises their pay unless they vote not to accept the increase.

With the COLA, state lawmakers will make more than $80,000 a year.

With Pennsylvania's unemployment rate at 8.3% and rising and tax collection revenues declining every month in the new fiscal year, how can state lawmakers justify taking more from their constituents?

One Republican lawmaker - Rep. Brad Roae - wants to eliminate the scheduled pay raise.

"Many teachers and state workers agreed to a one-year pay freeze because of the state budget problems, so I think state representatives should lead by example and do the same thing," Roae said. "Social Security recipients went for several years without a COLA and the increase they are going to get next year will be offset by the higher Medicare payments retirees have to pay. Many local companies could not afford to give raises to their employees this year. If all of these people have had their incomes frozen, I believe state representatives should also have their incomes frozen."

Will a majority of the career politicians in Harrisburg vote to turn down a pay raise?

Stay tuned.

State Rep. Brad Roae Introduces Bill to Freeze State Representatives' Pay

Newspaper: Save Money by Cutting Legislature

Pennsylvania has run up a $658 million budget deficit in the first five months of the current fiscal year. Estimates are the deficit will hit $2 billion by next spring.

Gov. Rendell has found $300 million in cuts from departments under his control, but $300 million isn't going to make much of a dent in a $2 budget shortfall.

Unlike the federal government, which can just print more money, Pennsylvania is bound by its Constitution to balance its budget each year. So more cuts in spending and a possible tax hike are being discussed, although raising taxes during a recession is not very appetizing.

Where can we save money?

At least one newspaper has suggested we lay off members of the Pennsylvania Legislature, the most expensive state legislature in the country, with 253 elected members and 3,000 staffers costing taxpayers $300 million a year.

From an editorial in the Reading Eagle:

With the commonwealth facing a fiscal-year deficit that some in state government have pegged at between $1 billion and $2 billion, officials are looking for ways to trim the budget while still providing the services that Pennsylvania needs.

If the number of senators and representatives were reduced by as much as half, the state could save $10 million or more just on salaries.

Yes, $10 million is a mere drop in the bucket when talking about a deficit that could be 100 or 200 times that amount. But to paraphrase the late Sen. Everett Dirksen, an Illinois Republican, $1 million here, $10 million there, and pretty soon we’re talking about some real savings for the taxpayers.

According to the Economy League report, the commonwealth has the second-largest number of legislators at 253, trailing only New Hampshire, with 424. But New Hampshire has a true citizens Legislature, with each lawmaker receiving only $200 a day for a limited number of days per year.

Compare that with the base salary of slightly more than $76,163, (the salary is $78,315 as of Dec. 1) which is boosted by perks such as extra salary for leadership positions and extremely generous health insurance and retirement packages.

As a result of just the legislators’ base salaries, the Pennsylvania taxpayers are on the hook for $19.3 million every year. Much larger states in terms of population — California and New York, for example — pay far less for their lawmakers even though their lawmakers receive higher salaries.

Indeed, the combination of the pay, the perks and the number of lawmakers in Pennsylvania make it one of the most expensive legislatures in the nation.

Read the full editorial, "To trim the budget, trim the Legislature," at the newspaper's Web site.

I've made three offers in the past two years to give up my state legislators in an effort to save money, but I haven't had any takers yet. Check out my previous posts: $1.2 million per legislator and Disband the Pennsylvania Legislature and Take my legislators, please

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Some say pay raise anger is over

Interesting article at PolitickerPA.com, an online magazine that cover politics, that concludes that the anger over the July 2005 pay raise has passed.

"The targets that might still be available are fewer and the issue doesn't seem to have nearly the resonance it did a few years ago," Chris Borick, a pollster and political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, told PolitickerPA. "That doesn't mean it's not simmering in the background, and that there's not a simmering emotional core among the electorate."

It might be too early to say for sure that voter anger is over. Let's wait until after the Nov. 4 election to see how many incumbents are voted out. Some incumbents in the Senate who supported the pay raise are facing voters for the first time because they run for re-election every four years.

Read the full article by Dan Hirschhorn here.

Columnist examines court's role in pay raise fiasco

Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer examines the allegations of collusion between the judicial and legislative branches of state government over the ill-fated July 2005 pay raise.

A lawsuit by the Pennsylvania League of Women voters has brought the controversy back in the news.

Baer writes:

"If it's true, it means that the fix is in on stuff of statewide significance.

If untrue, it still feeds the fears of those who think the fix is in.

Either way, it can't help the image of the state court system.

And the state court system is striking back, threatening retaliation.

Ah, Pennsylvania."

Read the full column here.