Should Committee Chairs Get Paid More?

by Tim Storey

Many legislators would say that setting their own pay is the most radioactive issue they ever address.  States vary considerably in how they compensate state legislators for the work they do.  And of course, the job of being a legislator differs from state to state, so it is only natural that salaries would be all over the proverbial map. 

Washington State takes the most analytical, and methodologically rigorous approach to setting legislative compensation.  In 1986, Washington voters approved the establishment of the  Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, which has the authority to set legislative salaries as well as the pay of the governor and other elected officials.  The commission researches pay for similar jobs and analyzes market data as well as what other states pay comparable elected officials.  The Commission relies on a standard approach that most large private sector employers take to determine pay levels for employees.  This is also the model that NCSL frequently employs to study legislative staff compensation.

A number of states recognize that there are different levels of legislative work within the legislature and provide additional pay to leaders and committee chairs.  Whether to offer differential pay to committee chairs continued to come up in Washington, so the Commission hired a consultant to recommend whether chairs and leaders should receive a stipend in addition to the regular salary.  Just as NCSL does when studying staff compensation, the consultant performed a job content evaluation based on various criteria. 

The consultant's report, Legislative Leadership Stipend Study, concludes that Washington committee chairs do not have enough additional responsibilities and duties to merit more pay than rank and file members and that providing extra compensation could make internal management of the legislature more complicated.  The consultant noted that different legislators may perform the task of chairing a committee very differently.  And the consultant reported that a "clear preponderance of opinion from the interviewees (mostly legislators)" was opposed to providing stipends to chairs and other leaders beyond those already receiving them.