A citizens’ committee that sets legislator salaries punted Thursday on a decision on raises. 

The committee meets every two years to determine compensation for the 105 members of the Idaho Legislature. During a meeting in Boise, committee members split over a bipartisan recommendation from legislative leaders to make major changes to their compensation structure, including hiking salaries by $6,446 on average. 

“There’s just too many things that I’m unsure of,” said Bryan Mooney, a member of the Citizens’ Committee on Legislative Compensation, who made the successful motion to delay a vote.

Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, presented leadership’s recommendation Thursday. The pay increase would cost the state an additional $1.5 million, Winder said, noting that he would not benefit from the raises. He lost his reelection bid in the May Republican primary and his term ends next month.  

It would tie legislators’ pay to 40% of Idaho’s average household income, which would increase take-home pay by 34% next year. And it would eliminate per diem, the daily allowance that legislators receive for meals during the annual legislative session. Legislators who live 50 miles or more outside of Boise would still get reimbursed for mileage and lodging expenses, as they currently do. 

Legislators currently make $19,913, plus $6,512 annually in per diem. After taxes, their total take-home pay is $19,060, on average. (Legislators’ per diem is taxed differently, depending on where they live.)

Legislative leadership’s recommendation would increase the salary to $37,801 and eliminate the per diem. After taxes — estimated at $12,295 — the new take-home pay would be $25,506, a 34% increase from the previous take-home.

House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star; Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; and House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, also signed the recommendation.

In a letter to the compensation committee, the leaders argued that legislator pay has lagged behind salaries in the executive and legislative branches. Over the last two decades, legislator salaries increased $4,267, compared to a $25,963 hike for state employees during the same period. 

The letter also argued that the pay increase takes into account: 

• Workload. While the part-time Legislature only meets for about three months annually, lawmakers conduct “legislative business” throughout the year.
• Legislator compensation in other states. The average legislator salary across all states was $43,494 in 2023, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The lowest, New Hampshire’s, was $100 and the highest, New York’s, was $142,000. 
• Lack of support staff. The Idaho Legislature has 0.8 permanent support staff members per legislator. That’s 2.3 less than other western states. 

Increasing salaries for legislators could also remove barriers for people who want to serve in the Legislature, Winder said. Legislators with the means to give up their time and their regular-paying jobs tend to be “long in the tooth,” Winder said. 

“We want some gray hair, we want some experience. But we also have to have a next generation of people being attracted to serve in the Legislature.”

Compensation committee member Neil Nelson moved to approve the recommendation. He said the 34% increase could be misleading, while the actual dollar-amount increase is “not that much.” 

“I feel like the whole dollar increase is still just a matter of leveling up the compensation.”

Dennis Johnson and Jill Twedt supported the motion, but it failed on a 3-3 tie vote. 

Mooney and committee member Mary Hasenoehrl said they wanted more time to consider the proposal. JoAnne Stringfield said she was uncomfortable with using “arbitrary numbers,” like 40% of the average household income, a figure that often represents salaries for two people. 

“That maybe isn’t the right benchmark for us,” she said. “…I struggle a little bit with how this might be received, if all that gets out to our taxpayers is that this committee approved a 34% increase for our legislators.”

The committee scheduled a follow-up meeting for Nov. 6. The committee is legally required to make a decision before the end of November.