A citizens’ committee approved 19% raises for Idaho legislators Wednesday, tempering a proposal from Statehouse leadership to increase compensation by more than twice as much. 

The Citizens’ Committee on Legislative Compensation meets every two years to determine compensation for the 105 members of the Idaho Legislature. After punting a vote on raises last month, the six-person committee agreed on $25,000 base salaries, plus daily meals and travel expenses during the annual legislative session. 

Legislators will take home $31,512 the next two years when factoring in the “per diem” meal allowance — calculated at $6,512 annually. That’s a 19% increase from the current $26,425 salary and per diem. 

Committee member JoAnne Stringfield made the successful motion to set the new salary, which represents 40% of the median state employee’s earnings, she said. Lawmakers told the committee last month that they work about two-fifths of the year, including the legislative session, which usually lasts about three months, along with constituent work outside the session. 

“The committee’s responsibility is to try to determine what these jobs are worth, and it’s a really difficult thing to do in a situation like this,” said Stringfield, a former executive for Micron Technology and chairwoman of Blue Cross of Idaho’s board of directors. “…Our state employees and our legislators have similar benefits, and it makes sense to me to tie this legislator salary to 40% of what the median state employees salary is.”

Committee rejects pay increase proposed by Statehouse leaders

The committee’s unanimous decision Wednesday rejected a proposal to overhaul legislators’ compensation that a bipartisan group of Statehouse leaders put forward.

The recommendation would have tied salaries to 40% of Idaho’s average household income, and eliminated the per diem allowance. Salaries would have been $37,801 next year. 

The proposal argued that legislator pay has lagged behind salaries in the executive and legislative branches. And the pay increase would take into account legislators’ workload and lack of support staff while bringing Idaho’s legislator pay closer to the average across all U.S. states, $43,494. 

Former Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, also argued that higher pay would attract younger people to run for the Legislature by making the time and resource commitment more feasible.

Winder presented the recommendation with House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; and House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, also endorsed the proposal. 

But the major pay increase attracted criticism. The Idaho Statesman’s editorial board accused the legislative leaders of using “sneaky” numbers that showed a 34% increase, based on take-home pay after taxes, while the pre-tax increase would have been 43%. 

And the citizens’ compensation committee balked, initially asking for more time to consider the recommendation, then voting on a lesser pay increase. The panel is composed of three gubernatorial appointees and three Idaho Supreme Court employees, per the Idaho Constitution. 

Legislative leaders receive small hike in perks

Committee members also voted Wednesday to increase the perks that legislative leaders collect for their additional duties. 

Currently, the Senate president pro tem and House speaker earn $5,000 annually on top of their regular legislator salaries. And majority and minority leaders in the House and Senate earn an additional $2,000. 

Leadership’s proposal suggested tying the bonuses to Idaho’s average household income — 10% for the pro tem and speaker and 4% for the majority and minority leaders. Those percentages, based on the latest average household income, would have equated to an additional $9,450 for the pro tem and speaker and $3,780 for the majority and minority leaders.

The compensation committee instead settled on a $500 increase for each position. 

“I don’t like the large increase in the original proposal, but I would agree with this little bit of an increase,” said committee member Mary Hasenoehrl, former development director at Lewis-Clark State College and member of the University of Idaho Foundation’s board of directors.

Legislators can adjust the committee’s compensation decision next legislative session, but they cannot increase it, according to state law. They can only reject the decision and maintain their current compensation structure or they can lower it through a concurrent resolution, approved by the House and Senate.