{"id":1317,"date":"2023-03-21T15:04:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/?p=1317"},"modified":"2023-03-21T15:04:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:04:48","slug":"legislative-salary-in-other-western-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.triplespacedagain.com\/wordpress\/?p=1317","title":{"rendered":"Legislative salary in other Western states"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legislative salary in other Western states<\/h1>\n

This is not a published column but is based on the column I wrote in March 2023 about legislative salaries.<\/p>\n

I found a list of the contact information for legislative staff in all the Western states \u2013 the equivalent of New Mexico\u2019s Legislative Council Service.\u00a0 I wrote a short list of questions concerning legislative salary and related policy.<\/p>\n

Five states sent detailed responses and I am sharing them here.\u00a0 I have deleted the names and titles of the individuals who responded because I did not ask their permission to use their names.\u00a0 Staff members often prefer not to have their names used.<\/p>\n

I have also inserted information from the National Council of State Legislature on salary, per diem and mileage for these states.\u00a0 Source:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ncsl.org\/about-state-legislatures\/2022-legislator-compensation<\/a><\/p>\n

And a few other notes based on items I did not ask.<\/p>\n

For example, every one of these state pays legislators something for travel between home and the state capital, but what is covered?\u00a0 In New Mexico it is only one trip to Santa Fe and back home per session.\u00a0 In some states it is one trip per week.<\/p>\n

Here are my questions:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

For the sake of comparison, may I ask a few simple questions about your state.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Since legislators receive a salary, is it expected that this salary will be their only or primary source of earned income?<\/li>\n
  2. Are legislators expected to work year-round full time on their legislative business?<\/li>\n
  3. Are they allowed by law to hold another job or profession \u00a0or own a business? Are there any restrictions, such as a conflict-of-interest provision?<\/li>\n
  4. Are legislators provided with staff and\/or offices in their district?<\/li>\n
  5. May I please have the statutory citation governing legislative salary.<\/li>\n
  6. Does your state have a policy manual for legislators fleshing out the details of legislative salary?\u00a0 If it is online, may I have a link to that manual.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The following are the responses I received from legislative staff in Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Washington state and Idaho.<\/p>\n

    Nevada\u2014population 3.18 million<\/h1>\n

    Note:\u00a0 legislators receive a salary for days of the session with a maximum of 60 days paid.<\/p>\n

    NCSL — For 2022 the salary was $164.69<\/strong> per day<\/em>. I calculate that to total $9881.40 for the year. There is a travel allowance of $10,000 per session plus extra for leadership.\u00a0 Mileage 58.5 cents.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Response:<\/h2>\n

    Rather than meeting annually, as most states do, Nevada\u2019s 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\u2019t meet again until February 3, 2025. The Legislators\u2019 salary is about $165 a day, and pursuant to the Nevada Constitution<\/em>, Legislators can\u2019t 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 \u201ccitizen legislature.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    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.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The 2023 Legislative Manual<\/em> has not been published yet, but this entry from the Index to the Nevada Revised Statutes<\/em> might be of interest:<\/span><\/p>\n

    LEGISLATURE<\/span><\/p>\n

    Members<\/span><\/p>\n

    Compensation<\/span><\/p>\n

    Amount,\u00a0218A.630<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Commission to Review, creation and duties,\u00a0281.157<\/a>–281.1575<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Cost-of-living increases,\u00a0218A.630<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Deductions,\u00a0218F.510<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Extra compensation prohibited,\u00a0Art. 17 \u00a7 5<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Increase or decrease during session prohibited,\u00a0Art. 4 \u00a7 28<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Nonreturning Legislators,\u00a0218A.635<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Presession or out-of-session meetings,\u00a0218A.635<\/a>–218A.645<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    Sixty-day limit,\u00a0Art. 4 \u00a7 33<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    The current perform rate is $157 per day, and it is based on GSA rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Note:\u00a0 The numbers above refer to sections of Nevada state law.\u00a0 The following is the link to the entire section:<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.leg.state.nv.us\/NRS\/NRS-218A.html#NRS218ASec630<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    COLORADO \u2013 population 5.84 million<\/h1>\n

    NCSL:<\/em><\/p>\n

    Salary is $40,242<\/strong><\/em>. See the more detailed information below. Mileage is 58.5 cents.\u00a0 Per diem is $45 per day for legislators who live within 50 miles of the capital and $234 for those who live further away.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

    Response:<\/span>
    \n1. \u00a0I 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. \u00a0Many Colorado legislators hold jobs outside of their legislative work, at least for part of the year. <\/span><\/h3>\n

    2. \u00a0The legislative session is 120 days, annually. \u00a0However, 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. \u00a0I think most legislators consider being a Colorado lawmaker at least a full-time job, if not more. <\/span><\/p>\n

    3. \u00a0Colorado legislators are not prohibited by law from holding another job or owning a business, and most lawmakers do earn other income. \u00a0The rules of the House of Representatives (House Rule 21<\/a>) and the Senate (Senate Rule 17<\/a>) 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. \u00a0Joint House\/Senate Rule 42<\/a> also provides information about voting restrictions for conflicts of interest. \u00a0There are a variety of other ethics-related laws that govern the conduct of members of the General Assembly, including receiving gifts, etc. \u00a0More information is here: http:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/agencies\/office-legislative-legal-services\/ethics-information<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    4. \u00a0Legislators may employ an aide for up to 1,800 hours annually. \u00a0Legislators do not receive state funding for district offices. \u00a0Legislators may use campaign funds to hire additional staff or set up district offices.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Note:\u00a0 that looks like 45 weeks of 40 hours per week. Almost year round.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Section 2-2-307, C.R.S (attached). \u00a0You can find the current salaries here:<\/span> https:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/agencies\/legislative-council-staff\/salaries-legislators-statewide-elected-officials-and-county<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Note: \u00a0From the section cited above:<\/p>\n

      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.<\/span><\/p>\n

      74th General Assembly — 2023 and 2024 salaries.<\/strong> \u00a0legislator salaries for calendar years 2023 and 2024. \u00a0Senators whose terms began prior to January 2023 will receive $41,449<\/strong> annually. \u00a0Senators 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.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \u00a0I’m not aware of any policy manual for Colorado legislators.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Note:\u00a0 Colorado provides a detailed memo on ethics for legislators in non-technical language.\u00a0 You can read it here:<\/p>\n

        https:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/ethics-laws-and-rules-for-members-of-the-general-assembly.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

        I found particularly interesting the statement that vote-trading is considered bribery and is prohibited.\u00a0 Vote-trading means \u201cI\u2019ll vote for your bill if you vote for mine,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        ARIZONA — 7.26 million<\/h1>\n

        NCSL:\u00a0 annual salary $24,000<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

        Mileage 58.5 cents.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 For legislators living outside this county the current rate is $220 for the first 120 days and half that amount for following days.<\/em><\/p>\n

        RESPONSE:<\/h2>\n

        The writer answered by inserting comments in my questions.<\/p>\n

        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.<\/p>\n

        For the sake of comparison, may I ask a few simple questions about your state.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Since legislators receive a salary, is it expected that this salary will be their only or primary source of earned income? NO<\/span><\/li>\n
        2. 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 \u00a0set their own interim schedule\/workload.<\/span><\/li>\n
        3. Are they allowed by law to hold another job or profession \u00a0or own a business? YES Are there any restrictions, such as a conflict-of-interest provision? There are conflict of interest and financial reporting requirements.<\/span><\/li>\n
        4. 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.<\/span><\/li>\n
        5. May I please have the statutory citation governing legislative salary.\n