A bipartisan proposal to raise Kansas lawmakers’ pay by 93% took effect Wednesday without holding a vote, making their compensation higher than more populated states like Texas and Georgia.
In place of a vote, last year legislators established a bipartisan pay commission which recommended rank-and-file lawmakers, who currently have a $30,000 base compensation, receive an increase of almost $28,000 starting in January of 2025, Associated Press reported. The 93% increase would bolster their pay to nearly $58,000; meanwhile, higher-up legislative leaders like House speaker and Senate president would see a jump from their $44,000 annual salary to $85,000.
The Legislative Compensation Commission, comprised of eight former state lawmakers, unanimously gave the green light for the pay raises of 165 Kansas Legislators, Kansas Reflector reported. Chairman of the commission and former Republican House member Mark Hutton defended the salary hikes, saying it could help recruitment and prevent the lawmakers from becoming of lawmaking professionals.
“To be clear, I did not approach this responsibility with the intention of arriving at a political solution. While the commission reviewed the current compensation, we had little discussion about the size of the increase, choosing to reflect on what it should be,” Hutton told the Senate budget committee.
The decision comes after years of complaints from state legislators who claimed that their annual compensation was not enough to sufficiently live off of and their duties kept them from being able to maintain outside jobs, per the AP. Other supporters of the pay increase say it will recruit a more diverse range of lawmakers who are not already wealthy or retired.
“You might get a few more females,” said state Sen. Cindy Holscher (D). “You might get a few more minorities. You might get a few more younger people.”
The salary increases garnered some disapproval from Republicans who were concerned that the increase was political grandstanding, according to the outlet.
Nick Reinecker, a central Kansas restaurant owner who has been a candidate for U.S. House, pressed the Senate Ways and Means Committee to reject the pay increases.
“When you stand up and say your oath to God and say you’re going to sacrifice for God, family and country, it’s not supposed to be a job,” Reinecker said. “It should be a passion. I want you to be a citizen Legislature.”
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Republican Rep. Ken Corbet from Topeka told the AP he had considered proposing an anti-raise resolution, saying that usually, in businesses, the boss would establish the pay, and not its employees. He said in this case, the legislator’s boss is the taxpayer who hasn’t decided to give him a pay raise.
The outlet reported that other state lawmakers have had their salaries increased in New Jersey and Alaska by 67%, with New York legislators getting a 29% increase at the beginning of 2023. Before 1948, it had been 90 years since Kansas legislators received a pay increase, and in 1962, voters decided that their salaries could be established through state law.
