Big Pay Raise for Minnesota Lawmakers
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers will get their first raise since 1999 after a newly created citizen council voted to increase the Legislature's pay to $45,000.
The Legislative Salary Council voted 13-1 Friday to increase lawmaker's pay by 45 percent. Their new $45,000 salary is up from $31,000, a sum that doesn't include daily expenses and travel reimbursements that can add thousands of dollars to their paychecks.
The raise takes effect July 1.
Minnesota voters created the citizen council in November by approving a constitutional amendment that removed lawmakers' power to set their own pay. It came after years of stalled efforts at the Legislature to increase pay amid fear of political backlash.
But the Legislature may have to approve the extra $2.8 million of state money necessary to cover their larger paychecks.