January 7, 2009 Mass. lawmakers to receive 5.5 percent pay hike

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts lawmakers are set to receive a 5.5 percent pay hike, even as they prepare to make deep cuts to state services.

The increase would lift lawmakers' base pay from $58,237 to $61,440 - an increase of just over $3,200 a year. Many lawmakers make more than the base pay with some heads of committees making an additional $7,500 or $15,000.

Under a state law approved by voters in 1998, lawmakers' pay rises or falls every two years in sync with the state's median household income.

The law requires the governor to determine the change to the household income at the start of each two-year legislative session.

Patrick sent a letter to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill late Wednesday saying he'd determined the increase to be 5.5 percent. Patrick said he based his determination on the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey and reports of average weekly wages.

The timing is politically awkward as the state grapples with tumbling revenues and lawmakers face the prospect of slashing spending.

On Wednesday, Patrick asked lawmakers for expanded budget-cutting powers after projecting just last week that the state's revenues for the current fiscal year which ends June 30 will fall by another $1 billion. One of the biggest items on the chopping block is local aid to cities and town.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray, both elected to new terms as heads of the legislative chambers, also

The ballot question was intended to take the politics out of legislative pay raises by tying them to the fate of household income - and taking the decision out of the hands of lawmakers themselves.

David Falcone, a spokesman for Senate President Murray said there's no guarantee lawmakers' salaries will always go up at the start of each session.

"If the median household income had decreased, there could in fact have been a pay cut instead of a raise," Falcone said, adding that the decision whether or not to accept the pay hike is up to each individual member.

Critics said few workers in Massachusetts have guaranteed pay hikes written into law.

But they also said that the voters who approved the ballot question in 1998 and may be upset with the pay hikes now, have no one to blame but themselves.

"Voters did a very, very foolish thing and they are going to have to pay for it literally," said Barbara Anderson of the anti-tax group Citizens for Limited Taxation. "When they are worrying about where their next paycheck is coming from, their lawmakers are going to be enjoying a pay raise."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)