The 34th Legislature has been in session for about a month, with more than 200 bills introduced so far. Two of these bills (H.B. 83 and S.B. 87) reject the State Compensation Commission’s recommendations to automatically increase legislators’ pay based on inflation.

In the previous Legislature, the State Compensation Commission proposed a 67% pay increase for legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor and department heads. During that session, I introduced H.B. 136 to reject the pay increase in response to these recommendations. I voted against the pay raises before and I will vote against automatic pay raises this year when this legislation inevitably comes up for a vote on the House floor.

H.B. 83 and S.B. 87 were introduced this year to disapprove the recommendations of the State Compensation Commission. Both bills are currently in the House Rules Committee, with the House Floor as the next step. A “yes” vote on these bills rejects the proposed automatic pay raises.

Alaska’s current budget is facing a significant shortfall before any extra funding for education, health care, or any other issues is added to the mix. We are not in a position to receive automatic pay raises when our state is already receiving less revenue due to the decline in oil prices.

The Legislature’s job is to pass a balanced budget each year. With that in mind, automatic pay raises are not the best use of state money. Instead, we should continue to support a strong fiscal plan and focus our efforts and resources on our economy, education and workforce development issues … not increasing legislator salaries.

As always, please call my office at 907-465-2693 or reach me by email at Rep.Justin.Ruffridge@akleg.gov with any concerns, comments, or questions, as we love to hear from you!