Legislative salary in other Western states

This is not a published column but is based on the column I wrote in March 2023 about legislative salaries.

I found a list of the contact information for legislative staff in all the Western states – the equivalent of New Mexico’s Legislative Council Service.  I wrote a short list of questions concerning legislative salary and related policy.

Five states sent detailed responses and I am sharing them here.  I have deleted the names and titles of the individuals who responded because I did not ask their permission to use their names.  Staff members often prefer not to have their names used.

I have also inserted information from the National Council of State Legislature on salary, per diem and mileage for these states.  Source:

https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/2022-legislator-compensation

And a few other notes based on items I did not ask.

For example, every one of these state pays legislators something for travel between home and the state capital, but what is covered?  In New Mexico it is only one trip to Santa Fe and back home per session.  In some states it is one trip per week.

Here are my questions:

New Mexico is the only state that does not pay legislators any salary, though we do pay per diem and mileage for travel. Our legislators are now discussing the possibility of instituting a salary.

For the sake of comparison, may I ask a few simple questions about your state.

1. Since legislators receive a salary, is it expected that this salary will be their only or primary source of earned income?
2. Are legislators expected to work year-round full time on their legislative business?
3. Are they allowed by law to hold another job or profession  or own a business? Are there any restrictions, such as a conflict-of-interest provision?
4. Are legislators provided with staff and/or offices in their district?
5. May I please have the statutory citation governing legislative salary.
6. Does your state have a policy manual for legislators fleshing out the details of legislative salary?  If it is online, may I have a link to that manual.

The following are the responses I received from legislative staff in Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Washington state and Idaho.

Nevada—population 3.18 million

Note:  legislators receive a salary for days of the session with a maximum of 60 days paid.

NCSL — For 2022 the salary was $164.69 per day. I calculate that to total $9881.40 for the year. There is a travel allowance of $10,000 per session plus extra for leadership.  Mileage 58.5 cents.

Response:

Rather than meeting annually, as most states do, Nevada’s Legislature is one of four that meets biennially. (Montana, North Dakota, and Texas are the others.) The Nevada Legislature meets for only 120 calendar days in odd-numbered years, and is currently on Day 30 of the 2023 Session. Once this Session ends on June 5, and barring the calling of a special session, they won’t meet again until February 3, 2025. The Legislators’ salary is about $165 a day, and pursuant to the Nevada Constitution, Legislators can’t be paid their salary or compensation for more than 60 days during a regular session or more than 20 days during a special session, regardless of the length of the session. Not surprisingly, most of our legislators have other jobs or are retired, which is why it is often referred to as a “citizen legislature.”

Except for during the legislative session, Legislators do not generally maintain individual offices or staff. However, Legislators have full-time access to the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB), the nonpartisan staff for the Legislature. During session, each Legislator has an office in the Legislative Building and Legislators are also designated session staff hired by the respective houses of the Nevada Legislature to assist with legislative sessions.

The 2023 Legislative Manual has not been published yet, but this entry from the Index to the Nevada Revised Statutes might be of interest:

LEGISLATURE

Members

Compensation

Amount, 218A.630

Commission to Review, creation and duties, 281.157–281.1575

Cost-of-living increases, 218A.630

Deductions, 218F.510

Extra compensation prohibited, Art. 17 § 5

Increase or decrease during session prohibited, Art. 4 § 28

Nonreturning Legislators, 218A.635

Presession or out-of-session meetings, 218A.635–218A.645

Sixty-day limit, Art. 4 § 33

The current perform rate is $157 per day, and it is based on GSA rates. 

Note:  The numbers above refer to sections of Nevada state law.  The following is the link to the entire section:

https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-218A.html#NRS218ASec630

 

 

COLORADO – population 5.84 million

NCSL:

Salary is $40,242. See the more detailed information below. Mileage is 58.5 cents.  Per diem is $45 per day for legislators who live within 50 miles of the capital and $234 for those who live further away. 

Response:
1.  I am not aware of any written guidance, law, or other policy that lays out an expectation for Colorado legislators that their legislative salary be their only or primary source of income.  Many Colorado legislators hold jobs outside of their legislative work, at least for part of the year.

2.  The legislative session is 120 days, annually.  However, most lawmakers are also involved in interim activities, such as committees and other policy initiatives, and of course, are responsive to their constituents year-round, even when the legislature is not meeting.  I think most legislators consider being a Colorado lawmaker at least a full-time job, if not more.

3.  Colorado legislators are not prohibited by law from holding another job or owning a business, and most lawmakers do earn other income.  The rules of the House of Representatives (House Rule 21) and the Senate (Senate Rule 17) require members who have an immediate personal or financial interest in a bill or measure pending before the General Assembly to recuse themselves and not vote.  Joint House/Senate Rule 42 also provides information about voting restrictions for conflicts of interest.  There are a variety of other ethics-related laws that govern the conduct of members of the General Assembly, including receiving gifts, etc.  More information is here: http://leg.colorado.gov/agencies/office-legislative-legal-services/ethics-information

4.  Legislators may employ an aide for up to 1,800 hours annually.  Legislators do not receive state funding for district offices.  Legislators may use campaign funds to hire additional staff or set up district offices.

Note:  that looks like 45 weeks of 40 hours per week. Almost year round.

5. Section 2-2-307, C.R.S (attached).  You can find the current salaries here: https://leg.colorado.gov/agencies/legislative-council-staff/salaries-legislators-statewide-elected-officials-and-county

Note:  From the section cited above:

Member salaries are adjusted at the beginning of each term to equal 25 percent of a county judge’s salary during the first year of the term.

74th General Assembly — 2023 and 2024 salaries.  legislator salaries for calendar years 2023 and 2024.  Senators whose terms began prior to January 2023 will receive $41,449 annually.  Senators whose terms begin on the first day of the legislative session in January of 2023 and all members of the House will receive $43,977 annually.

6.  I’m not aware of any policy manual for Colorado legislators.

Note:  Colorado provides a detailed memo on ethics for legislators in non-technical language.  You can read it here:

https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/ethics-laws-and-rules-for-members-of-the-general-assembly.pdf

I found particularly interesting the statement that vote-trading is considered bribery and is prohibited.  Vote-trading means “I’ll vote for your bill if you vote for mine,” and I had thought it was an accepted if rather scummy practice. This is outside the current subject matter but too interesting to leave out.

 

ARIZONA — 7.26 million

NCSL:  annual salary $24,000

Mileage 58.5 cents.  Per diem is $35 per day for legislators living in Maricopa County (Phoenix area) for the first 120 days of regular and special sessions and $10 per day after that.  For legislators living outside this county the current rate is $220 for the first 120 days and half that amount for following days.

RESPONSE:

The writer answered by inserting comments in my questions.

New Mexico is the only state that does not pay legislators any salary, though we do pay per diem. Our legislators are now discussing the possibility of instituting a salary.

For the sake of comparison, may I ask a few simple questions about your state.

6. Since legislators receive a salary, is it expected that this salary will be their only or primary source of earned income? NO
7. Are legislators expected to work year-round full time on their legislative business? NO. The regular legislative sessions generally runs 100-180 calendar days. Members  set their own interim schedule/workload.
8. Are they allowed by law to hold another job or profession  or own a business? YES Are there any restrictions, such as a conflict-of-interest provision? There are conflict of interest and financial reporting requirements.
9. Are legislators provided with staff and/or offices in their district? NO. Tucson area legislators have a shared office space and one staff person available.
10. May I please have the statutory citation governing legislative salary.
    • Constitution: https://www.azleg.gov/viewDocument/?docName=https://www.azleg.gov/const/5/12.htm
    • Statute: https://www.azleg.gov/viewdocument/?docName=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azleg.gov%2Fars%2F41%2F01904.htm
11. Does your state have a policy manual for legislators fleshing out the details of legislative salary? Not  that I am aware of.
    

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – population 7.8 million

Note:  from the state commission website, legislator salaries in 2023 are $57,876, increasing in July 2023 and again in July 2024.  Salaries for members of the leadership are higher.

RESPONSE:

In accordance with the state constitution and relevant statutes, an independent commission sets salaries for the state’s elected officials.  The relevant constitutional and statutory citations are provided below.  In addition, I am including a link to the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Statewide Elected Officials, which includes additional resources and background that you might find helpful.

• State Constitution – Article 28: https://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Pages/WAConstitution.aspx#ARTICLE_XXVIII
• Constitutional Amendment 78: https://leg.wa.gov/CodeReviser/Pages/WAConstitution.aspx#AMENDMENT_78
• Chapter 03 RCW includes statutes relevant to the Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Statewide Elected Officials and legislator salaries.
• Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Statewide Elected Officials

Additionally, answers to your specific questions are provided below.

New Mexico is the only state that does not pay legislators any salary, though we do pay per diem. Our legislators are now discussing the possibility of instituting a salary.

For the sake of comparison, may I ask a few simple questions about your state.

1. Since legislators receive a salary, is it expected that this salary will be their only or primary source of earned income? NO
2. Are legislators expected to work year-round full time on their legislative business? While some members work as full-time legislators, most hold other jobs and take a leave of absence during legislative sessions to fulfill their legislative responsibilities.  The regular legislative session runs from January through March in even-numbered years and January through April in odd-numbered years. Special legislative sessions occur as needed.  The Salary Commission (referenced above) has taken the position that legislators work is part-time (approx. 75% time).  Obviously, a legislator’s work does not end with the legislative session, and many members serve on task forces, boards, commissions, and legislative committees that continue to work during the interim.  Additionally, members continue to engage with constituents and stakeholders on public policy issues.
3. Are they allowed by law to hold another job or profession  or own a business? Are there any restrictions, such as a conflict-of-interest provision? Members are permitted to hold another job or own a business.  There are certain ethics restrictions on such work (per the State Ethics Act) and potential conflicts may need to be vetted by the Legislative Ethics Board.  Certain work is prohibited (e.g.., registered lobbyist) and certain federal statutes may also impact such work (i.e., Hatch Act).
4. Are legislators provided with staff and/or offices in their district?  House members are assigned one legislative assistant (LA) to manage their office.  Members may open a district office (staffed), if they wish.  However, most district offices were closed during the pandemic and the majority of LAs are now teleworking during the interim.  Other staff (caucus staff, nonpartisan committee staff, etc.) provide members with analytical and communications support.  These staff generally do not work out of a member’s district office.  However, some caucus staff have been co-located with member district offices at a larger facility in Seattle that serves multiple House and Senate members.
5. May I please have the statutory citation governing legislative salary. Please see the aforementioned constitutional and statutory citations.
6. Does your state have a policy manual for legislators fleshing out the details of legislative salary?  If it is online, may I have a link to that manual. As mentioned earlier, member salaries are fixed by an independent commission.  Please feel free to peruse the commission website for more information about the salary setting process.

 

IDAHO – population 1.9 million

NCSL: The salary for Idaho is $18,875. Mileage is 58.5 cents.  Per diem is $71 per day for legislators who live within 50 miles of the capitol and $139 per day for those who live further away.

RESPONSE:

New Mexico is the only state that does not pay legislators any salary, though we do pay per diem. Our legislators are now discussing the possibility of instituting a salary.

For the sake of comparison, may I ask a few simple questions about your state.

1. Since legislators receive a salary, is it expected that this salary will be their only or primary source of earned income? Definitely not.  We don’t pay much.
2. Are legislators expected to work year-round full time on their legislative business? No, we are a part-time citizen legislature.
3. Are they allowed by law to hold another job or profession  or own a business? Are there any restrictions, such as a conflict-of-interest provision? Not statutory, but the common law doctrine of incompatibility of office could apply if there is a conflict of interest generally.  If there is a one-time event or vote posing a conflict of interest, the legislator must declare the conflict but may still vote after declaring.
4. Are legislators provided with staff and/or offices in their district?
5. May I please have the statutory citation governing legislative salary.  Idaho Constitution creates a citizens’ committee on legislative compensation.  Legislators do not set their own compensation. Constitutional provision: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idconst/ArtIII/Sect23/ Implementing statutes: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title67/T67CH4/SECT67-406a/  and https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title67/T67CH4/SECT67-406b/
6. Does your state have a policy manual for legislators fleshing out the details of legislative salary?  If it is online, may I have a link to that manual. The citizens’ report is attached to this email.

Link to the citizens’ report:

https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2022/interim/FinalReport_comp_Report%20of%20the%20citizens%20committee%20%20executed%20by%20rwl.pdf