In a year when they're considering pay freezes and furloughs for other state workers, a group of Republican lawmakers say the cutting should begin with their own paychecks. "We are offering today a five percent legislative salary cut, an actual cut in pay," Senator Geoff Michel of Edina told reporters at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Despite a shot of federal stimulus money lawmakers will still be forced to making gut-wrenching decisions in the coming months over which programs to cut, and how many patients to drop from the rolls of state subsidized medical plans. "We're going to go through the state budget line by line," he added, "We have to do that but we think it's time to set an example, set the tone here in Saint Paul and we should go through the legislative budget first." The bill, if passed, would also slash pay for elected constitutional officers such as the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor and Lieutenant Governor. The authors of the plan admit this will only go a little way toward solving the state's $5 billion projected funding shortfall. It would save about $676,000 over the next two years. They say it's more about the symbolic need to look at themselves before putting others on the chopping block financially. "People expect us to lead," Representative Dan Severson of Sauk Rapids said, "If we're asking people to take salary freezes or salary cuts or just to try to keep their jobs out there, we as elected representatives of the people of Minnesota we need to do the same thing." The five percent cut would take lawmakers' annual salary from $31,140 to $29,583 for each of the next two fiscal years. Legislators haven't upgraded their take home pay since 1999. Their daily expense allowance or "per diem payments" did rise three years ago much to the chagrin of Republicans at the Capitol, who branded it a backdoor pay hike. Per diem increases can be done in the Rules Committee without a vote by the full legislature, but a salary increase must come to a floor vote. The ad hoc group of state senators and representatives made it clear this idea is not being pushed by their caucus leaders, but said Governor Pawlenty had assured them he would sign such a bill if it crossed his desk. House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, both Democrats, say they're open to looking at a pay cut for legislators as part of a possible budget fix.
(Copywrite 2009 by KARE. All rights reserved.)
