Louisiana Legislature wants HUGE Pay Raise

Salaries would be closer to full-time job

Friday, June 13, 2008

By Ed Anderson

BATON ROUGE -- House members will meet this morning to debate a proposal to triple legislators' salaries in what has become the defining issue of the session.

After it passed the Senate on Tuesday, the pay raise backlash erupted overnight, stoking public outrage on call-in shows, Web sites and newspaper editorial pages and threatening to embarrass Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is in the uncomfortable position of saying he opposes the raise but is unwilling to veto it.

The proposal also could mark a shift in Louisiana's style of government. By increasing lawmakers' base salary from $16,800 to $50,700, Senate Bill 672 challenges the concept of a Legislature comprised of citizens performing part-time public service in favor of representation that is compensated like a full-time job.