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--> --> Legislators put a halt to salary raises The (Albany) Democrat-Herald July 17 Too little attention has been paid to one little detail among the confusing results of the third special legislative session: Legislators voted to cut their own pay. The question came up in an e-mail from a reader who had taken a look at HB4055, passed by the special session last month. How come the bill granted raises to a number of statewide elected officials, he wanted to know. And what about the salary stated for legislators - was that an increase or a decrease? The bill does two things: It cancels raises that statewide elected officials were scheduled to receive starting this month. And it rolls back the salary of legislators to the level in effect Jan. 1, 2001. The regular session last year, you may recall, had raised the pay of the governor and other elected officials. Their pay went up in July 2001 and again July 1, 2002. In the case of the governor, the raise was from $88,300 per year to $93,600 the first year and $99,200 the second year. The secretary of state, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction and the labor commissioner went from $67,900 per year to $77,200 last July and then to $76,300 this month. The attorney general went from $72,800 to $77,200 and then to $81,800. During the special session in June, the Legislature canceled the second increase, the one that took effect this month. Lawmakers could not very well have canceled the original increase, which had already been in effect for a year. For themselves, the lawmakers cut salaries effective this July 1. Their pay was to drop from the previous $1,347 a month to $1,283, the level that had been in effect from January until December 2001. (Lawmakers also get $85 per day when they are in session or attending committee meetings.) There's only one remaining wrinkle in this salary picture. As of Tuesday, when the D-H checked with the legislative administration on a couple of details regarding pay, the bill containing the cuts had not yet been signed. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing