That can will be arranged
Posted on 07/31/2005 9:02:54 PM PDT by Born Conservative
More than 80 percent of state lawmakers — and almost 90 percent of local state legislators — are eligible to earn salaries even bigger than the new, higher base pay the General Assembly recently approved.
When the majority of state lawmakers voted themselves raises earlier this month, they not only added 16.4 percent to their base salaries, they also gave extra pay for the first time to the chairmen and vice chairmen of legislative committees and chairmen of committee subcommittees.
And the top officers of both Houses are now eligible for more extra pay than they were getting before.
Among four local state senators and 15 representatives, only state Reps. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, and John Siptroth, D-Smithfield Township, are ineligible for more than the new basic pay of $81,050 a year. Neither holds leadership or committee posts.
Everybody else among the Northeastern Pennsylvania delegation can collect salaries 22.2 to 34.7 percent higher.
Reps. Fred Belardi, D-Scranton, the House Democratic Caucus administrator, and Rep. Kevin Blaum, D-Wilkes-Barre, the House Democratic Caucus secretary, lead the way with 34.7 percent boosts to $106,986 a year. Senate Democratic Leader Robert J. Mellow of Peckville is a close third with a 33.6 percent increase to $134,771.54.
Efforts to reach local legislators who voted for the pay raises proved unsuccessful except for Mr. Mellow and Reps. Thomas Tigue, D-Hughestown, and Mario Scavello, R-Mount Pocono.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Mr. Mellow said, defending the base raise for the first time to a local reporter. “People work very hard, the judges and the governor’s Cabinet ... They’re away from home quite a bit, but they’re probably busier when they’re back in their districts.”
Mr. Mellow said House and Senate leaders and committee officers are also worth the extra money.
“They have additional responsibilities,” he said.
Mr. Tigue said the new salaries are fair compared to what superintendents and high school principals earn.
“You know whether we raised it $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000, people are going to complain because we got a raise,” Mr. Tigue said. “It’s a full-time position. We invest a lot of time in it.”
Mr. Tigue, who will earn an extra $19,507 as a Democratic committee chairman, said committee leaders deserve more because they must be more knowledgeable about all issues that come before their committees and keep fellow members of their parties aware.
“It’s no different than being a department head somewhere,” Mr. Tigue said.
The raise bill, which also granted pay raises to judges, the governor, Cabinet members and others, passed the House by a vote of 119-79 and the Senate 27-23 in the early morning hours July 7. Mr. Siptroth and Mr. Yudichak were the only local legislators to vote against the raises. The bill tied future pay hikes to comparable positions at the federal level. It set legislative salaries at half of whatever members of Congress earn. But even if congressional salaries stay the same, the base legislative salary will rise every Dec. 1 based on inflation starting in 2006. There is no automatic adjustment for the leadership posts of the houses or committees.
Mr. Siptroth, who was elected to fill a vacancy in February, said he voted no because he felt it would be inappropriate for a new representative to ask for an increase, but has no doubt that committee leaders are worth the additional money, he said.
Mr. Siptroth plans to accept the raise because the salary includes what would have been this year’s cost-of-living increase and is satisfactory based on what legislators do.
At least one local legislator is not taking the extra pay.
Mr. Scavello is eligible for $15,454 extra for chairing a subcommittee won’t take the extra money. Instead, Mr. Scavello, who already gives away a quarter of his salary, said he will spend it on $50 savings bonds for sixth graders who make the honor roll each quarter.
Rather than reject the raise and watch it spent elsewhere, he voted for the pay raise bill so he could give the money away when it became apparent the bill would pass. He also thought magisterial district judges, who are often called out during the night and are paid less than a tax collector in his district, deserved more money. Their raises were lumped in the same bill.
“I had to make a decision. How do you justify a tax collector making more than a magistrate?” he said.
The 22 committees in the Senate and 26 in the House are set up to address various industries, systems or issues — banking, education and environmental resources and energy, for example. Their majority chairmen oversee their operations, decide what issues to address, which bills will be the subject of hearings where testimony and evidence are collected, decide which bills are worth sending to the House and Senate for votes on adoption.
Subcommittees focus on one aspect of a committee’s work. For example, the House Education Committee has subcommittees on basic and higher education. Their chairmen perform similar work.
Each house also has a leadership hierarchy for Republicans and Democrats. At the top are the Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tempore. At the bottom are the caucus secretaries, policy chairmen and administrators.
Majority and minority leaders such as Mr. Mellow help drive their party’s agenda, negotiate final deals on all bills and act as the spokesmen for their members.
The new base salary places Pennsylvania legislators behind only California, which pays legislators $99,000 a year, according to a 2003 review by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The conference rates Pennsylvania as one of four “red” legislatures. California, New York and Michigan are the others.
Red legislatures require the most time of legislators, usually 80 percent or more of a full-time job, according to a memo on the conference’s Web site says.
“They have large staffs. In most red states, legislators are paid enough to make a living without requiring outside income. These legislatures are most like Congress,” according to the memo.
In fact, the staff of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, just under 3,000 in 2003, was second in size only to New York, according to the conference.
Mr. Tigue pointed out that Pennsylvania’s previous salary for legislators, $69,647, was the lowest among the four red states. New York pays $79,500 and Michigan $77,400 annually.
But never before had committee leaders been paid extra.
Paying additional money to top leaders and committee chairmen isn’t unheard of.
New York’s state legislature pays $41,000 extra annually to the top leaders of each house and smaller amounts for other leaders of each party’s caucuses. The additional pay ranges to a low of $9,000 for ranking minority members of committees, the equivalent of Pennsylvania’s minority committee chairman, spokesmen for the houses said. At least 151 members, or 71 percent, of New York’s 212-member legislature earn additional pay.
In Ohio, where the base pay for the 132 senators and representatives is $56,260, the extra pay ranges from $2,500 for the ranking minority members of House subcommittees to $31,438 in additional pay for the Senate President and House Speaker. At least 110 legislators, or 83 percent, qualify for extra pay.
But in New Jersey, where the 120 assemblymen and senators earn $49,000 a year, only the Senate president and Assembly (House) speaker are paid higher salaries than rank-and-file legislators. They earn $16,333 more a year.
In California, where the 120 assemblymen and senators will get a raise of $11,880 to boost their salaries to $110,880 come December, only the very top leaders — the Assembly and Senate majority and minority leaders, the Senate president and the Assembly speaker, earn more. Their pay will rise from $113,850 to $127,512 in December. Like New Jersey, committee leaders get no extra salary.
Many other state legislatures are part-time and pay salaries based well below $30,000 a year. Some pay daily rates for when legislators are in session. They are known as “citizen legislatures,” whose members legislate part-time and hold down full-time jobs in the private sector. In Texas, the salary is $600 a month.
James Broussard, chairman of the grass roots state group Citizens Against Higher Taxes, said Pennsylvania had a citizen legislature until a few decades ago. He’d like to see a return to that, but has fewer qualms about paying extra money to leaders of committee and the houses.
“People in these positions actually do extra work,” Mr. Broussard said. “My gripe is I think they were perfectly adequately paid, perhaps more than adequately compensated before the raise and it’s the fundamental pay raise I object to.”
How many workers get a 16%+ pay raise, in addition to all of the perks that a congressman gets?
Ping
I should have become a public servant.
Top pay, secure jobs, great benefits, and pensions most of us can only dream of.
All legilators, from county level up through state and federal, should be part time only, with comensurate pay. Pay should be restricted to no more than the median income for the county / state they are representing.
I can think of no good reason that their needs to be a full time law making body at any level of government. All it leads to is more laws and more governmental intrusion in order to justify their existance - and their fat paychecks and benefits.
>>I can think of no good reason that their needs to be a full time law making body at any level of government. All it leads to is more laws and more governmental intrusion in order to justify their existance - and their fat paychecks and benefits.<<
Agree
well stated. I see no end in sight. Government rules more and more of our lives. I can't ever see it being reduced -- short of another revolution. The parasitic government class have us right where they want us. Sad.
The way it's supposed to work is that the markets should decide what one's pay is. It's not like people of equal (better) quality weren't avaialbe to take their place at the lower pay rate.
Would you rather have them earn very little, be more subject to corruption, and only attract the type of candidates who can afford to take a nominal salary because of outside sources of income?
I'd rather have them earn a LIVABLE wage and keep raises to what the average worker is getting (2-3%, not 16%+). Don't forget, in addition to this massive raise, they also get a lot of perks that are paid for by the taxpayers.
Legislators are not average workers. They are the equivalent of Directors of a Company, or high ranking managers. They should be paid well to attract a good caliber of candidates and discourage fraud and financial chicanery on their part with public money, campaign money, and bribery.
What you are spouting with linking them to the average worker is pure socialism. Perhaps you just haven't stepped back long enough to think about it.
Lastly, the PA legislators haven't received a raise in a number of years. A 16% raise, when that is the first raise in over 5 years, is hardly inordinate, and works out to a very low percentage per year. Its not as though they are getting 16% EVERY year.
I am betting you are a "public servant" yourself, which is why you so blindly defend these pirates in Pennsylvania. That, or you're very close to someone who is.
The PA legislature is the second-largest in the COUNTRY. They get $650 a month car allowance, PLUS mileage. They get expenses, PLUS per diems. They get other benefits, PLUS they quickly vest for full, rich pensions and lifetime medical benefits.
It is an absolute scam, considering they preside over a state that is bleeding population and businesses. As for the "Directors of a Company" idea of yours....
Okay, half an hour went by, as I lay on the floor, laughing. Many of the knucklehead reps in this state have not gone to college, can literally barely speak English, and ONLY get into this "racket" because it is such a rich one. Pigs at the trough. Many of them have never done anything ELSE but be legislators! As for the argument that these "talented, skilled" folks could make more in the private sector--please, go, now, the sooner the better!
It should either be performance-based, like in companies where incentive programs are created, or part-time, like in several New England states, so people can hurry up with state business and get back to their real careers.
This state could cut its number of reps in half, overnight, and no one would notice. And we'd still have twice as many as we need. We are a joke.
I live here, I know.
The only good thing about this raise (by the way, it's not the only one in five years, and several judges have commented that it is illegal), is that it has awakened people, and we just might be looking at a revolution.
Please see post 11. I should have addressed you on it, too.
Are you kidding? You are implying if they don't get this pay raise, they'll become corrupt???
The less a full time legislator is paid, I would suspect the more likely he is to be corrupt. He must support himself and family somehow.
You bet wrong. I'm an engineer. I have nothing to do with the public sector.
The PA legislature is the second-largest in the COUNTRY.
Meaning it is one of the most representative in the country. I'll make a note of the fact that you are against representative government.
They get $650 a month car allowance, PLUS mileage. They get expenses, PLUS per diems. They get other benefits, PLUS they quickly vest for full, rich pensions and lifetime medical benefits.
Good for them. The cost of these items is truly minimal. The car allowance you are foaming at the mouth about works out to a little over $2 million per year, or about 15 cents per person in Pennsylvania. The salaries you are beside yourself over amount to around $1.75 per person per year.
It is an absolute scam, considering they preside over a state that is bleeding population and businesses. As for the "Directors of a Company" idea of yours....
The State population and economy continues to grow. The only real hindrance to it is the dead weight of the Democrats in Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties. I'll make a note that you are unaware of basic facts about our state.
As for the argument that these "talented, skilled" folks could make more in the private sector--please, go, now, the sooner the better!
I never said that. I said they should be compensated (somewhat) like equivalent people in the private sector, and not paid like an average worker, because they are not average workers.
This state could cut its number of reps in half, overnight, and no one would notice. And we'd still have twice as many as we need. We are a joke.
Why are you so opposed to local representation? Our State Representatives have districts with around 60,000 people. These are small enough that they can walk the district and meet and actually remember many of the people. You would apparently like to see them representing 250,000+ people instead. Our Founding Fathers were utterly opposed to this sort of distant government.
You mention the New England States. New Hampshire has an even better system of representation, with 400 some Representatives for 2 million people, allowing a wide variety of people to easily enter politics and become elected.
With your theories, why have a legislature at all? Why not just abolish it and let the Governor rule directly? We'd save all that money you are fretting over.
The only good thing about this raise (by the way, it's not the only one in five years, and several judges have commented that it is illegal),
Okay, so you are totally misinformed on the issue too, but you are somehow an expert?
"Pennsylvania lawmakers last week voted themselves their first pay raise in 10 years" (Intelligencer Journal)
http://www.grassrootspa.com/2005/07/intelligencer-journal-critics-of.html
Are you able to do basic math? 16% over 10 years is less than 1.5% raise per year. That is "excessive"?
is that it has awakened people, and we just might be looking at a revolution.
Keep dreaming. You are going to throw out the Republicans and invite in the Democrat Party of Pennsylvania to "restore fiscal sanity"? Please! Last time we did that, our taxes were doubled by them.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Heck, Herm, let's give them each a casino.
Since law enforcement is on the front line of corruption, do you suggest making large raises for all law enforcement so they don't become corrupt?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1453377/posts?page=6#6
That can will be arranged
Sounds great. When, do you suppose, that will start happening?
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