Oregon Lawmakers look to give themselves a 60 percent pay raise

OREGON - State lawmakers are looking to up their pay by nearly 60 percent, saying the benefit will outweigh the cost by attracting diverse politicians.

Oregon state lawmakers currently make about $31,000 each year, but through bi-partisan support, they want to boost that salary up to about $50,000, in addition to the estimated $150 tacked on to their checks each day the legislature is in session.

“It’s really long overdue to raise legislative salaries,” Oregon Sen. Majority Leader Ginny Burdick says.

She’s a chief sponsor of the bill, and points out the wage hike would still be significantly less than most urban full-time county commissioners pay checks.

And, says the proposed raise isn't about getting rich, but about achieving equity.

“The pool of people we can attract to this work is very limited because not everyone can afford to live with that kind of a low salary,” Sen. Burdick says. “We're going to truly represent Oregonians, we need to have a diversity of people in the legislature.”

Oregonians would ultimately fund the pay hike through the General Fund.

Some of which agree that state lawmakers should be paid more for their service.

“You have to give people a decent wage if they're going to make these big decisions, otherwise they're going to get bought out; that's how lobbying works,” Eugene resident, Lonnie Clark says.

Others think the money should go elsewhere.

“Maybe we can use it to benefit everybody instead of to those few people in government, not unless they're doing a killer job for everybody,” Portland resident, Jenniffer Perlman says.

Another chief sponsor of the bill, Sen. Floyd Prozanski says now that the legislature meets annually, finding money for room and board in Salem and working a second job seasonally is a challenge for some.

“It really has limited the number of people who are willing and able to serve,” he says.

All to be decided this legislative session.