The Maryland Public Policy Institute
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DECEMBER 11, 2009
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Furloughs and layoffs of state employees, cuts to state programs, less aid for local governments, higher unemployment insurance rates. And pay raises for legislators?
The latter might seem unthinkable with Maryland facing a massive deficit and having imposed or on the verge of implementing the other above actions. With that as a backdrop, an independent panel tasked with reviewing salaries, benefits, reimbursement rates and pension plans for General Assembly members began its quadrennial public meetings this week.
Although the General Assembly Compensation Commission will not make any formal recommendations until next month, several members said they are disinclined to propose raises or major compensation changes in the current fiscal climate.
"My major sensitivity is the economy," said Sean W. Glynn, a Montgomery County resident and gubernatorial appointee who chairs the commission.
Even most lawmakers say now is not the time for a bigger paycheck.
"I'm not sure why we should be rewarded for taking the state's credit card out and driving up a $3 billion debt," said Del. Warren E. Miller (R-Dist. 9A) of Woodbine.
Although they have not received a pay boost since 2006, Maryland lawmakers earn the second-highest annual salary among part-time legislatures - Hawaii is No. 1 - according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Senators and delegates receive $43,500. The presiding officers earn $56,500.
That is roughly four times what legislators were paid in 1971. Politicians received a big raise following the commission's 2001 recommendations. Annual wages jumped from $31,509 in 2002 to the current salary in 2006, a 38 percent increase.
During the legislative session, lawmakers get a $42 per diem on meals and up to $126 a day for lodging. They also can claim the standard mileage allowance for work-related travel, $500 annually for in-district travel and optional participation in the state retirement plan.
"I think we get treated pretty well," Miller said. "We get good compensation for three months full time, and for the rest of the year when we're doing constituent service, we're still doing pretty well."
Any legislators who endorse a pay raise for themselves while their constituents are making sacrifices does so at their own political peril, said Christopher B. Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute.
"This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue. It's a policy issue and a numbers issue," he said. "If any of the legislators have an inkling of what's happening in the private sector, they would just say, ‘Thanks but no thanks. We'll wait until conditions improve in the private sector until we fatten our own wallets.'"
Statistics illustrate that most lawmakers do not skimp on what is permitted during the session.
To wit, 161 of 188 members, or 86 percent, claimed the full daily meal limit this year. Only six legislators did not submit any claims for meals, according to the Department of Legislative Services.
And 156 legislators were reimbursed for lodging for the entire 90-day session, most at the maximum daily rate of $126. Only 25 members submitted no lodging expenses in the last session, up from 17 in 2005.
Lawmakers are not required to submit receipts for meals, and one commission member suggested that there is nothing to prevent claiming the full $42 allotment and pocketing what is not spent. Some hotels where legislators stay offer free breakfast.
But mandating the submission of receipts for meals by all 188 legislators could be an accounting nightmare, said Simon Powell, a DLS analyst who is staffing the commission.
Still, legislators submitted nearly $47,000 less in receipts for meals in 2009 than the previous year. Lodging reimbursements, for which receipts are required, increased slightly from last year.
Nationwide, lawmakers' salaries range from $10 a day in Alabama to $116,208 annually in California. New Mexico legislators get a per diem, but are not paid additional wages.
Legislative salaries need to be reasonable enough to account for the workload and to attract qualified candidates to seek office, commission members said.
But pay should not be a major consideration for prospective officeholders, said Del. Steven R. Schuh (R-Dist. 31) of Gibson Island.
"I wouldn't want to be represented by somebody who's attracted to the legislature for the salary," he said. "This is supposed to be a citizen legislature comprised of people who have other careers and other lives. If someone can't find more attractive compensation elsewhere than the legislature, then they shouldn't be in the legislature."
As of 2007, 41 Maryland lawmakers listed themselves as full-time legislators, according to a DLS survey.
Maryland's No. 2 pay ranking among part-time legislatures partially reflects the state's high cost of living, Powell said.
Commission member John C. Sprague, a former lobbyist, questioned what measurable effect higher salaries would have on the work product.
"I have to ask myself, if we gave them a $5,000 increase, would we have a better legislature," he said.
Although salary increases seem unlikely, commission member Adolph W. Ebersberger Jr., a financial adviser from Severna Park, said there may be other ways to adjust legislative compensation without costing taxpayers, such as a deferred compensation program that could be paid through a state-issued bond.
He believes legislators are overdue for a compensation enhancement, because they have not received a cost-of-living adjustment in several years.
The commission must submit its recommendations by Jan. 27 to the General Assembly, whose members cannot increase the salary levels offered by the independent panel. The new compensation guidelines would take effect for the four-year term that begins in 2011.
A separate commission that recommends the salaries for the governor and lieutenant governor is scheduled to hold its first meeting today in Annapolis.
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