Elected state officials’ pay raise backed

Commission vote advances 3% increase for next year

The commission that sets the pay for Arkansas’ elected officials moved Tuesday to increase salaries for the state’s elected constitutional officers and General Assembly members by 3% for fiscal 2022.

In a unanimous vote, members of the Independent Citizens Commission also voted to study further the compensation and duties for the offices. The salary recommendation will be formalized with a resolution at a later date, then sent to the state auditor for final approval.

Earlier this month, the panel voted to increase pay for the state’s judges by 3%, a decision that was formalized with a resolution approved at Tuesday’s meeting.

Commissioners indicated that they felt increasing the pay for constitutional officers and members of the Legislature at the same rate as judges was appropriate.

Arkansas has seven constitutional offices: the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor and commissioner of state lands.

In the Arkansas General Assembly, there are 100 members in the Arkansas House and 35 in the Arkansas Senate. The speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore receive higher salaries than the other members.

Across the board, the cost of the salary increases will total just more than $196,000.

Under the commission’s recommendation, the governor’s salary will increase from $154,115.53 to $158,739.

Pay for the lieutenant governor, which is considered to be a part-time position, will increase from $45,344.17 to $46,704.50.

The attorney general’s salary will go from $142,092.34 to $146,355.11 annually.

The secretary of state’s will increase from $98,371.62 to $101,322.77.

Salaries for the treasurer, auditor and commissioner of state lands will go from $92,906.53 to $95,693.73 apiece.

General Assembly members will be paid $44,356.86 annually, up from $43,064.91.

Salaries for the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro tempore will increase from $49,185.81 to $50,661.38, according to the commission’s recommendation.

Commissioner Annabelle Imber Tuck said she believed the salary for Arkansas’ governor was commensurate with those in surrounding states and questioned whether the commission should leave it as-is or “give the governor some kind of cost-of-living

raise.”

Chairman Chuck Banks asked whether there was any reasonable analysis that would cause the commission to give the elected officials less than a 3% raise.

Commissioner Phillip Fletcher said it seemed that if the panel gave a 3% raise to judges, they should give a 3% raise to everyone.

Most state employees received between a 2.8% and 3% raise for fiscal 2022, after Gov. Asa Hutchinson authorized state agencies to use 3% of their total payroll costs for employee raises.

Commissioner Jan Zimmerman suggested giving the officials a 3% raise to cover the cost-of-living increase, then study further the salaries and duties of the positions.

Tuck concurred, noting that the Arkansas Legislature is part-time under the state constitution.

“I think we have to be very careful about comparing apples and oranges with other states,” she said.

The commission plans to convene via teleconference at 9 a.m. Oct. 1 to approve the resolution formalizing their decision to increase constitutional officers’ and General Assembly members’ salaries.