LEGISLATIVE AIDES MAY BE THE NEXT IN LINE FOR RAISES ON BEACON HILL

By Cyndi Roy
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, FEB. 8, 2005…In the last few weeks, pay raises have been a focal point of conversation and legislation on Beacon Hill.

For elected officials, that is. All 200 lawmakers received a 4.1 percent boost in their base salary Jan. 1, due to a constitutional amendment that ties their pay to fluctuations in median household income. And more than half got a second boost this week
when they were appointed to leadership positions with retroactive annual pay increases of between $7,500 and $15,000.

Late last week, Gov. Mitt Romney proposed legislation that would give
raises to the state treasurer, auditor, secretary of state, attorney
general and the eight members of the Governor’s Council. Romney
recommended the raise last Friday afternoon, saying their last raise was in 2000.

And there’s a push brewing to raise the pay of legislative staff.
Legislation pending in the House boosts the pay of legislative aides by 22 percent this year, and ties their salaries to the base pay for lawmakers. Rep. Harriett Stanley (D-West Newbury), the bill’s sponsor, says House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has assured her he is examining an overhaul of the current pay system.
“They haven’t had a raise since July 2000, and we have had three or four since then,” Stanley said. “If we can fund golf courses and swimming pools, then I think it’s high time we turn some of those funds over to the people who do the work here.”

As of January, the base pay for lawmakers is $55,569. Stanley’s bill would entitle the legislative aide of each House member to “compensation of not less than 65 percent of the base pay for members of the General Court.” If the bill is approved this year, 160 aides would be eligible for a raise of up to $6,600 each, elevating their total base salary to $36,119. The raise would cost the state just over $1 million.
Stanley’s bill, which 82 lawmakers have signed onto as cosponsors, would not affect other House staffers, including committee researchers,
administrative aides, clerks, or court officers. The pay of those staffers is being worked out by Speaker DiMasi this month, she said.

A spokeswoman for DiMasi confirmed he is examining staff pay levels, but could not say what he is considering or when he would announce a decision.
“The speaker is aware that salaries for legislative aides have not been
adjusted since 2000,”said Kimberly Haberlin. “He is looking into the issue but there is no set timetable for what course of action he might take to address it.”
In his farewell speech to the House in September, former Speaker Thomas
Finneran said he had been unable to give raises to aides since the economy entered a recession in 2001. With revenues improving in his final months of tenure, he urged DiMasi to reward the legislative staff. -
“Sal if you don't do something about that real quick - shame on you,” he said.

In the Upper Chamber, Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge) said he plans to
include money in the fiscal 2006 budget to give all Senate staff a pay hike.
“They have been asked to forego any raise for the last few years,” he said.
“We haven’t restored any of the cutbacks we made in the Senate, but we’ve started talking about it, and with the governor talking about revenues coming in and a brighter economic picture, I think it’s time.”

Though he does not have a detailed plan, Moore said he will likely propose a 5 percent increase across the board, which he estimated would cost the state about $500,000. He proposed a similar amendment during budget negotiations last year, but withdrew it.

Sen. Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said it is too early to say whether such a request would be approved this year.

“Do they deserve a raise?” she said. “Yes, but that’s not a question I can answer right now.”

In addition to lawmakers and constitutional officers, the state’s judges have also pushed for a pay raise. In January, reports surfaced that 370 state judges were seeking a 30 percent pay hike this year that would have cost the state $13 million for the first year.
“Everybody deserves a pay raise,” Romney said in January, when asked about the proposed judicial pay raises. “The question is how much . . . In my view, people who work in public service shouldn't get a better deal than people who work in the private sector. Nor should they get a worse deal.”