New York Democrats voted to give themselves a 29 percent salary increase just days before Christmas, potentially making Albany the highest-paid state legislature in the nation.
Members of the state Assembly and Senate would make a base salary of $142,000 under a bill they passed during a special session, a $32,000 raise from their current $110,000. Their new salary is three times the average New Yorkers’ salary of $43,208.
Their last pay raise was in 2018, when they went from $79,500 to $110,000. It was the first time in 20 years New York Legislators received an increase. Their pay in 1998 was $57,500.
The new increase, if approved by Governor Kathy Hochul, would send them racing ahead of state lawmakers in California, who are currently the nation’s best-paid legislators with a yearly base pay of about $119,000, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
New York’s lawmakers, however, would also face restrictions for the first time on how much they can make from outside jobs.
Outside income would be capped at $35,000, starting in 2025. Pay in excess of that from military service, retirement plans or investments would still be allowed.
State Senators and the Assembly voted to give themselves a $32,000 raise from $110,000 to $142,000 a year. It is the first time they’ve received a raise since 2018, when they jumped from $79,500 to the current salary
The effort was largely pushed by Democrats and liberal Governor Kathy Hochul has 30 days to sign or veto it (pictured: Assemblyman Edward Ra)
Democratic Senator Sean Ryan said state legislators’ salaries ‘should be tied to inflation, but until we make that significant change, it is reasonable to periodically adjust them accordingly.’
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, said legislators work hard all year round and deserved a raise to cover the increased cost of living, which inflation has risen seven percent.
‘It’s a full-time job,’ she said. ‘Sooner or later in order to be able to afford to do the job, we have to raise pay.’
However, many Republicans rebuked the idea, as many of the legislators’ own constituents haven’t received inflation pay raises at their own jobs.
Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said he found the raise ‘patently offensive to the people we represent.’
‘Albany’s One Party Ruling Class continues to put their own misplaced priorities first,’ Ortt said in a statement.
Republican Senator George Borrello agreed, telling the legislators on Thursday that ‘the majority of New Yorkers – not even close – would say you should go back to Albany for a special session and give yourself a raise and pat yourselves on the back.’
‘Well, that’s what we’re doing today,’ he told his colleagues.
He criticized the fact that they had returned to Albany to just vote on a pay raise, instead of focusing on ‘criminal justice reforms’ and ‘fixing the unemployment insurance fund.’
New York lawmakers, especially in the city, have faced heavy criticism for the spike in crime, which is up 23 percent in the Big Apple, as of December 18.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (pictured), a Democrat, said legislators work hard all year round and deserved a raise to cover the increased cost of living, which inflation has risen seven percent
Democrats argued that their salaries should be ‘tied to inflation’ and there’s nothing wrong with an increase in salary here and there (pictured: Senator Deputy Majority Leader, Michael Gianaris, left, Sen. Andrew J. Lanza, right)
Borrello also took offense to the proposed $35,000 outside income cap, as a small business owner.
‘We’re also talking about limiting outside income. It sounds like a great idea, I’m sure – on the surface – a lot of people would think that’s a good idea,’ he told his fellow senators. ‘The problem with that is that it further insulates us of the impact of the harm we do.
‘I’m a small business owner, my wife and I,’ he continued. ‘Every day, we deal with the impact of the high taxes, of the overregulation. I bear the scars every day when I walk into this chamber or do my job out in the district of what it’s like to do business here, to operate a business here, as do others.
‘The farmers that we have in the Legislature, the people that are professionals, they understand that. And the less people like that in this chamber, the more out of touch this chamber will become.’
However, Ryan disagreed, telling WGRZ that the cap on outside income is to ‘ensure that state representatives are not influenced by potential conflicts of interest.’
In addition, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has said she supports the idea of a raise for the Legislature, but hasn’t said whether she would sign the bill.
She has 30 days to sign or veto it. If it is vetoed, it could still pass with a two-thirds vote.
Many Republicans rebuked the idea, as many of the legislators’ own constituents haven’t received inflation pay raises at their own jobs (pictured: Assemblyman Andy Goodell)
Gianaris, a Democrat, stood stiffly throughout the session
Many Republicans spoke at the session, including Republican Susan Serino (pictured)
Some government transparency and watchdog groups said after the bill was introduced late Monday that it doesn’t do enough for regulating outside income.
‘The public really deserves to know that their elected officials are working just for them and they don’t have any other interests in mind,’ said Rachael Fauss, a senior policy advisor at the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany.
Members of the US Congress, for example, are excluded from making any outside income while they are in-office from certain professions that could pose conflicts of interest, such as being a lawyer.
Outside income has posed ethical and legal problems for some of New York’s top lawmakers.
Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver died in prison after he was convicted of entering into a corrupt arrangement in which he got a pair of real estate developers to send business to a law firm paying him referral fees, and then backed legislation benefiting the developers.
The new proposed salary of $142,000 will make New York legislators the highest-paid in the country, surpassing California’s $119,000
Still, many states have a tradition of lawmaking being a part-time job, rather than a profession, and embraced the idea that a legislature should be made up of regular people with regular jobs outside of government.
‘When I campaigned, I heard over and over again from voters that we don’t want career politicians. That’s what this is going to create,’ said Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, a Republican who represents a district north of Albany.
Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, a Democrat, said the raise would help the Legislature retain quality members who could make more in the private sector.
‘We have had an unhealthy churning and turnover, particularly from downstate members,’ she said.
New York’s legislators got their last pay raise in 2018. At the time, it was their first raise in 20 years.
That pay boost was made possible through a list of recommendations made by a state compensation committee, but a cap on outside earnings was never implemented.
‘There’s a history in New York that looks at pay increases for legislatures, but this is the first time they are taking matters into their own hands,’ Fauss said.
