BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A plan to give the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, controller and superintendent of schools a 2.5 percent increase in pay each of the next five years has passed the Senate.
The Spokesman-Review reports (https://bit.ly/14TY8Yu) the Senate voted 30-5 Thursday. The bill now goes to the House.
The bill calls for the attorney general’s pay to rise next year to that of district judges, a 16 percent increase. The lieutenant governor would receive a 19.6 percent increase next year, followed by 2.5 percent annual increases.
“There’s been a lot of work go into this, trying to make a proper balance,” said Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. “I’m one who thinks that public officials should take some sacrifice in order to serve, but I don’t want the sacrifice to be so large that the good people can’t serve.”
He said the lieutenant governor is underpaid.
“Obviously that position has gone, over the years, from a part-time position to a very full-time position,” he said.
The lieutenant governor makes $35,700 a year. That would rise to $42,691 next year, and to 35 percent of the governor’s salary by 2019, or $45,973.90.
The Idaho attorney general makes $107,100 a year. That would rise July 1 to $124,000, matching that of a district judge, and stay there for the next four years.
Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, co-sponsored the bill with House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star.
Davis called the larger raises for the attorney general and lieutenant governor policy decisions.
“We picked a policy number that we felt like was something we could have confidence going forward on, and still be able to attract as many qualified candidates as possible,” Davis said.
If the House approves the bill and it’s signed by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, Otter would see his salary rise in 2015 to $121,975. By 2019, his salary would climb to $131,354.
The secretary of state, controller, treasurer and schools superintendent each make $101,150. Under the bill, they’d see that rise to $103,679 next year. Eventually, by 2019, they’d make 85 percent of the governor’s salary, or $111,650.90.
Lawmakers have already decided that state employees will get a total of 2 percent for merit-based raises next year. Half of that is permanent and half would be a one-time bonus. State employee pay in Idaho lags far below market rates.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, https://www.spokesman.com
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