Lawmakers to get 35% pay bump

Oklahoma legislators will see a 35% pay bump next year.

The Legislative Compensation Board voted Tuesday to boost legislators' annual pay from $ 35,021 to $47,500, their first pay raise in 20 years.

The pay bump comes in stark contrast to the actions the compensation board

took two years ago when its members voted to cut legislators' pay by 8.8%. At the time, board members said the pay cut reflected Oklahomans' frustration with the Legislature as lawmakers dealt with a budget shortfall amid growing demands for teacher pay raises.

But the board that met Tuesday was comprised of all new members. Some of the new board members, unfamiliar with prior board actions and perhaps the political climate two years ago, questioned why the previous board cut legislator pay at all.

The board is made up of nonelected officials appointed by the governor, House Speaker and Senate Pro Tem. The board also has two nonvoting members.

In addition to the pay raises approved on a 7-2 vote, board members also unanimously approved a boost to the stipends given to legislators who serve in House and Senate leadership. The stipend given to the House Speaker and Senate Pro Tem will go from $16,354 to $17,932. Stipends for other members of leadership will go from $11,276 to $12,364.

Members of the legislative compensation panel overwhelmingly agreed to give state legislators a pay bump, but then debated how much of a raise was sufficient.

Jonathan Dodson, a board member and Oklahoma City developer, noted legislators hadn't received pay raises since 1999 and simply adjusting for cost of living changes would require boosting their pay by more than $20,000.

Increasing legislators' salaries also allows people from different backgrounds to seek elected office, he said.

“We're really trying to get the brightest from our state to go run and represent us,” he said. “Whether it is a single parent, or they're in the fire department, they're retired or it's their first job, those are the people we're trying to draw.”

Board Chair man Robert DeNegri, the chief financial officer for Tyler Media, proposed restoring legislator pay to where it was before it was cut and then raising that by roughly 10% to $42,500.

DeNegri, who voted against the 35% pay boost, warned the board Oklahomans would focus on news headlines about increased pay for legislators.

“We need to do what's best for the legislators in the state of Oklahoma, but we also need to make sure that we keep in mind what the citizens of Oklahoma might think,” he said.

Local political analyst Scott Mitchell said all signs pointed to legislators deserving a significant pay raise, but warned that raising legislator pay above average pay for Oklahoma teachers could look bad. In 2018, average teacher pay was about $52,000.

“I think we've got to find the sweet spot,” Mitchell said.

The pay raises are important because it allows anyone, not just those who are affluent, to serve in the Legislature, said Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest. Legislating, like teaching, is not just a seasonal job, she said.

To that end, Priest said she's looking forward to working with the Legislature next year on continuing to increase public education funding. “Our students need teachers and support professionals who are paid appropriately, and our retirees desperately need a cost-of-living adjustment,” she said. “All public servants must be able to do their jobs.”

To support their arguments that legislators needed pay raises, some compensation board members pointed to Oklahoma's average median household salary, which was about $52,000 in 2018.

Board member Brandon Long, an Oklahoma City attorney, questioned if the state would have the funds to give legislators a 35% boost in pay.

John Budd, the director of t he Office of Management and Enterprise Services and a nonvoting member of the compensation board, said the pay raises don't take effect for a year so legislators can work the pay raises into next year's budget.

“It's not a big percent of our budget by any means,” he said. The pay raises for the 149 members of the Legislature will cost $1.85 million.

Oklahoma has a part-time Legislature that largely meets Monday through Thursday from early February until the end of May. In addition to their base salary, legislators receive per diem of $166 per day for every day the Legislature is in session.

The pay hikes will take effect on Nov. 18, 2020.