Griffin, Martin would refuse 2 percent raise

Move unique among state’s leaders

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and Secretary of State Mark Martin are the only two of the state’s seven constitutional officers saying they’ll decline to accept a 2 percent pay raise if a state commission that sets salaries of state elected officials grants the increase.

The Independent Citizens Commission has proposed 2 percent pay increases for elected officials in all branches of state government. The commission granted substantial increases to most of the officials two years ago and then decided against granting any raises last year. The method of changing salaries varies in surrounding states, from being changed by the legislature to being set by a commission in Missouri, according to the Ballotpedia website.

The commission is holding a public hearing at 9 a.m. today at the state Capitol before taking final action on the raises. The commission was created under Amendment 94 to the Arkansas Constitution. Voters approved the amendment in 2014.

The lieutenant governor’s job is considered to be part-time, so he makes less in salary than other constitutional officers. The 2 percent raise would increase the lieutenant governor’s annual salary from $42,315 to $43,161.

Griffin said in a letter dated Monday to the commission, “I recognize that the salary has not been increased since before I took office” in January 2015.

“Nonetheless, I oppose the proposed salary increase for the position of lieutenant governor,” the Little Rock Republican said.

He said he has reduced his office’s spending authority by more than 15 percent and reduced the number of staff from four to two.

“At a time when the state budget is tight and hardworking Arkansans need tax relief, a salary increase for me is neither a priority nor appropriate,” Griffin said. “As a result, I respectfully ask that the Independent Citizens Commission not raise the lieutenant governor’s salary. If my salary is increased, I will respectfully decline.”

Republican Secretary of State Mark Martin’s annual salary would rise from $90,000 to $91,800.

Asked whether Martin opposes the proposal and plans not to accept the raise if granted, Martin spokesman Chris Powell said Monday night that like the lieutenant governor, “Secretary Martin does not feel that a

pay increase is warranted.

“In the event that an increase is made, he would refuse to accept it and would instead donate it toward the purchase of new election equipment,” Powell said.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s pay would go from $141,000 to $143,820 a year.

Asked whether he opposes the proposed increase and plans not to accept the raise if granted, Hutchinson said in a written statement, “I’m grateful for the independent commission’s work in trying to provide competitive salaries for public officials.

“However, I’ve never advocated for a salary increase as governor, and this is not something I’m pushing for now,” the Republican governor said.

Asked if Hutchinson would answer whether he will accept the raise if granted, his spokesman, J.R. Davis, said, “His statement stands as is.”

Nearly two months ago, Hutchinson cut by $70 million the state’s $5.33 billion general-revenue budget in fiscal 2017, which ends Friday. He also cut by $43 million the $5.49 billion general-revenue budget for fiscal 2018 that starts Saturday. He cited lower-than-expected sales and corporate income tax collections and higher-than-expected individual income tax refunds for the fiscal 2017 budget cut.

In 2015, the Legislature enacted the governor’s plan to cut individual income tax rates for Arkansans with taxable income between $21,000 and $75,000; the plan is projected to reduce general revenue by about $100 million a year.

This year, the Legislature enacted Hutchinson’s plan to cut individual income tax rates for Arkansans with less than $21,000 in taxable income, effective Jan. 1, 2019. The state projects this plan will reduce general revenue by $25 million in fiscal 2019 and $ 50 million each year thereafter.

The salary commission’s proposal would boost Republican Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s annual salary from $130,000 to $132,600.

Asked whether she opposes the proposed raise and plans not to accept it, Rutledge said in a written statement that “as an elected official whose salary is determined by the Commission and whose office provides legal advice to the Commission, I have never asked for an increase in my salary and have not made any effort to influence their decision with regard to any salary adjustments for state officials.”

Asked whether she plans to accept the raise or not, Rutledge spokesman Judd Deere said, “I don’t have anything further than her statement at this time.”

Republican state Treasurer Dennis Milligan’s salary would increase from $85,000 to $86,700 a year.

Asked whether the treasurer opposes the raise and plans not to accept it if granted, Milligan spokesman Stacy Peterson said, “The treasurer doesn’t have a stance one way or the other.

“He didn’t run for office for the money. He ran because he wanted to make it better. So regardless of whether the commission votes for or against the pay raise, his main focus is still going to be making Arkansans’ tax dollars work harder for them,” Peterson said in a written statement.

Asked whether Milligan plans to accept the pay raise if granted, Peterson said she isn’t sure about that.

Republican state Land Commissioner John Thurston’s pay would go from $85,000 to $86,700.

Asked whether the land commissioner opposes the raise and won’t accept it if granted, Thurston said in a written statement that “at this point, it is my understanding that no final decision has been made on this issue. Therefore, any response is premature.

“Having said that, the Commissioner recognizes that the ICC was established by an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution with very specific responsibilities and guidelines in considering salary adjustments, among other things. The Commissioner of State Lands intends to honor and respect the ICC’s final recommendations,” Thurston said.

Republican state Auditor Andrea Lea’s pay also would go from $85,000 to $86,700.

Asked her feelings on the raise and whether to accept it, Lea spokesman Skot Covert said in a written statement that “given the Auditor’s duty of staffing the Independent Citizens Commission, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.”

The salaries for the House speaker and Senate president pro tempore would increase from $45,000 to $45,900 a year.

Asked about the proposal, Senate President Pro Tempore Jonathan Dismang said, “I have not advocated for or against any change in pay for those under the scope of the Independent Citizens Commission.

“The commission is charged with making a constitutionally independent evaluation,” said Dismang, a Republican from Searcy. “I believe that making a presentation for or against has the potential to jeopardize that independence and injects politics into the commission’s decision making process. My role is limited to providing any information that is requested by the commission for their evaluation.”

Asked the same questions, House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, a Republican from Judsonia, said, “I am letting them do their job and I am going to stay out of their way.

“The institution, I think, is bigger than one person,” said Gillam. “I have to think about the people who come after me and the House as a whole.”

Gillam said he would accept the 2 percent pay raise if granted.

“They obviously have a good reason for it,” he said.

The commission’s proposed 2 percent raises also would boost the salaries of other senators and representatives from $39,400 to $40,188 a year.

The commissioners said they proposed the 2 percent raises because inflation is about 2 percent and the raise would be fair.

The state has about 26,000 employees, excluding those who work at the state’s twoand four-year colleges.

About 54 percent of state employees are getting raises of more than 1 percent up to new minimum salaries under a new pay plan that goes into effect Saturday, in fiscal 2018, according to state officials. The rest will get raises of 1 percent. These raises are projected by the state to cost about $56 million a year.