Pay raises for Gov. Katie Hobbs, other Arizona lawmakers? A new bill would make it happen
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Arizona’s lawmakers are working on pay increases for themselves and other state elected officers after not seeing a raise since the 1990s.
Multiple bills have been introduced this session to attempt to bring lawmaker salaries into the 21st century, some focused on legislators and one focused on state officers. The latter passed a Senate committee on Tuesday with bipartisan support.
Sen. Brian Fernandez, D-Yuma, sponsored the bill. It would increase pay for the governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.
“I think this bill is self-explanatory,” Fernandez said at a hearing on Tuesday. “A lot of our officials in Arizona are not compensated as they should be for the responsibility levels that they carry out every day.”
The governor makes $95,000 per year, the attorney general makes $90,000, the secretary of state and treasurer make $70,000, and the superintendent of public instruction makes $85,000. Fernandez’s proposal would increase those salaries to between $150,000 and $170,000, depending on the office.
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The salary increases would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, except for the increase for the superintendent, which would go into effect in January 2025.
Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, voted in favor of Fernandez’s bill and said he is also interested in legislation aimed at increasing salaries for state representatives and senators. Lawmakers currently make $24,000 per year, with per diem allowances for lawmakers living outside of Maricopa County.
“It creates a situation where the only people who can serve in the Legislature are those who are independently wealthy, who are self-employed, or who have jobs where their employers can accommodate their absence for three, four, five or six months out of the year,” Kavanagh said.
Rep. Stacy Travers, D-Phoenix, introduced a resolution this session to increase lawmaker pay to $35,000 at the start of 2027. Rep. Chris Mathis, D-Tucson, introduced a resolution that would leave state legislator pay up to the Legislature and a bill that would give lawmakers the same salary as county supervisors.The resolutions appear unlikely to make it through the Legislature this session. If passed, both would appear on the ballot in November.
Arizona lawmakers haven't got a raise since 1998
Normally, salaries for lawmakers and executive officers are recommended to the ballot by the Commission on Salaries for Elective State Officers. The last time the commission was successful in securing a raise for lawmakers was 1998.
The commission has since recommended pay increases, but those proposals were shot down by voters. A $35,000 raise for lawmakers was rejected by voters in 2014.
Members of the commission say it hasn’t met in years due to three vacancies left unfilled by the governor and the chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. A spokesperson for Gov. Katie Hobbs' said she has no plans to fill the vacancies. A spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment.
Warde Nichols, a former state senator and current member of the commission, said lawmakers are "grossly paid" for the work they do. He said he would support legislators taking the matter into their own hands due to the current state of the commission.
However, Nichols said any resolution on lawmaker pay would require voter education on the state of salaries for Arizona’s elected officials.
“I think most people think that our state legislators get paid like the federal officers and Congress, where they’re making a very big six-figure income and don’t have to worry about finances while they’re serving in Congress,” Nichols said. “[That is] very, very, very different from our state elected officials and I think the voters don’t understand that anymore.”
Kavanagh said he is in favor of a resolution on lawmaker pay being sent to voters.
He had one thing to say to those who might be skeptical: “You get what you pay for.”
Reach the reporter at rpriest@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona lawmakers want to increase salaries for elected officials
