Arizona lawmaker pay hasn't budged in a quarter century. But other pay has

Arizona lawmakers returned to work earlier this month. For their labor, they are paid a $24,000 salary.

But that’s only part of the picture.

Lawmakers are also entitled to daily payments of $35 to cover the cost of meals and expenses. For those who live outside of Maricopa County, the per diem covering meals and housing is $238.

That higher rate adds an extra $35,760 to an out-county lawmaker’s pay for the first 120 days of the legislative session, including weekends and holidays.

After the 120th day, the out-of-county pay is cut in half and the Maricopa County daily rate drops to $10. That’s what happened last year when the session dragged on to July 31. That session was punctuated by several long pauses, during which the per diem continued to be paid, drawing some complaints.

Stuck at $24K

But back to the salary.

Voters in 1998 approved a pay increase to $24,000 from $15,000. It hasn’t budged in the quarter century since. In 2014, a state commission recommended raising the pay to $35,000 a year. Nearly 68% of voters shot it down.

In the ensuing decade, no one has bothered to broach the subject.

Arizona ranks in the middle of legislative salaries nationwide. The $24,000 pay is the 24th lowest in the nation, according to a 2023 survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures. New Mexico lawmakers don’t draw a salary, while at the other end of the salary scale, New York pays its full-time lawmakers $142,000 annually.

More pay in another way

With faint hopes of voters approving a salary increase, Arizona lawmakers instead focused on the per diem pay.

In 2021, they engineered changes to their per diem pay after growing complaints from out-of-town lawmakers that they couldn’t afford Phoenix rents on a daily per diem of $60.

In bipartisan votes, they increased the rate for any legislator living outside of Maricopa County, pegging it to the federal per diem scheme. The current payment is $238 a day.

In addition, lawmakers can claim mileage for their trips to and from the Capitol, and as they do legislative business in the state. They are reimbursed at the federal rate, which currently is 65.5 cents per mile.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona lawmaker pay has stayed at $24,000 for a quarter century