State lawmakers plan to reject pay hike
12:18 PM MST on Thursday, December 18, 2008
Associated Press & KTVB

BOISE - Republican and Democratic lawmakers plan to reject a recommended 5 percent pay increase when the 2009 session starts in January.

The increase, from $16,116 to $16,921, was advanced by the Legislative Compensation Committee in June. It took effect this month.

Democrats said they were unwilling to take the pay raise because so many Idaho families and small businesses are hurting.

Republicans said they can't imagine accepting more cash at a time when Gov. Butch Otter has slashed 2009 state budgets by 4 percent, with more cuts planned for 2010.

"Certainly it's something that I’m going to look at very closely we have families who are suffering, people are beginning to lose jobs, this is a rough economy and this is one of those decisions that we need to take another look at," said Sen. John McGee, R-Caldwell.

"If we're being given a 5 percent increase when we're looking at state employees getting nothing and looking at a lot of people losing their job, Democrats are taking leadership and saying we want the Legislature to reject the pay increase that's been recommended for us," said Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise.

The Idaho Constitution allows the committee to determine the pay rate for legislators every two years, that is unless the Legislature passes a resolution reducing or rejecting it.