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GOP: Pay raise? No thanks
Some lawmakers don’t want it
By Nancy Reardon
GateHouse News Service
Dec 26, 2008

BOSTON — State lawmakers may be the only employees in this fiscal crisis actually required to take a pay raise – and some of them don’t want it.

The state Senate’s Republican caucus called for a one-year salary freeze this week for state workers and legislators, the latter of whom receive a constitutionally guaranteed raise every two years.

The governor has some discretion over the raise amount, which must take into consideration the state’s median household income over the two previous years, according to a 1998 amendment to the state constitution.

That means it’s also possible that legislators’ pay could go down.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Deval Patrick said the office is still determining what the raise would be. A recommendation is not due until next week.

According to a statement from the GOP, no state employee should get a pay raise as long as Patrick delays scheduled salary increases for some workers, most notably 30,000 human service providers awaiting a 3 percent raise.

Sen. Robert Hedlund said foregoing the raise would make an even wider statement.

“Unless you’re a Wall Street banker that’s getting bailed out, there aren’t a lot of people in the private sector getting raises this year,” the Weymouth Republican said. “We’re seeing a decline in wages in the U.S., and we’re seeing a shrinkage of the middle class, and public officials’ compensation should reflect what’s going on in the marketplace.”

But some say turning down a raise written into the constitution may be easier said than done.

“What sounds like a good sound byte is actually going to take some work,” said Sen. Michael Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat.

He said lawmakers should consider other alternatives that don’t “single out” legislators or possibly affect other state workers’ retirement plans.

He also noted that some legislators have lucrative jobs and businesses in addition to their congressional work, and others do not.

“I don’t think we should be focusing on the Legislature,” Morrissey said. “We should be looking at the entire problem and a wide array of solutions to the fiscal crisis.”

A spokeswoman for Senate President Therese Murray said the Plymouth Democrat didn’t have any comment on the issue yet.

This year, lawmakers earned $58,237 in base pay. Committee chairmen and vice chairmen earned between $7,500 and $15,000 on top of that, and the House speaker and Senate president receive $35,000 stipends on top of their base pay.

In 2005 and 2007, former Gov. Mitt Romney boosted legislative pay between 4 and 5 percent.

“In the old days, people complained about us voting for our own pay raise,” Morrissey said. “There’s no good way to figure out what a legislative pay raise should be.”