Oregon lawmakers want to give themselves a raise in search of more ‘diverse’ candidates

(The Center Square) – In the midst of a global pandemic and ongoing recession, some Oregon lawmakers want to increase their salaries.

In Oregon, state senators and representatives can each expect to make $31,200 per year. The speaker of the House and Senate president both take home annual salaries of $41,184. Those amounts do not count the current per diem rate of $109 that state lawmakers currently receive to cover daily expenses.

Some state lawmakers see those pay rates as a big problem. They argue raising them would invite more working-class candidates to the state Capitol and lower the barrier for those coming from the most disadvantaged corners of the state.

House Bill 3144 would revise those pay rates to match the state’s annual mean wage, which was $53,890 in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bill applies to salary periods after Jan. 1, 2022 and would also add monthly allowances of $400 to cover work expenses like travel while the legislature is in session. Allowances out of session would be adjusted based on average travel costs from a state lawmaker’s district. It would take effect 91 days after the 2021 session adjourns in June.

A number of Oregon residents said the bill was absolutely the wrong call.

“I think all politicians should take a 15% to 20% pay cut depending on how long they’ve been in office and put that money back into our schools, police department, and other funds,” said Stephen, a Salem resident. “They’re paid too much money for what little they do.”

Oregon lawmakers’ attempts to raise their own pay is nothing new. In 2019, the state legislature saw a bill backed by then-Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, attempting to do just that.

This session’s efforts are led by state Reps. Zach Hudson, D-Troutdale, and Khanh Pham, D-Portland, who see HB 3144 as a way of diversifying state leadership.

Everyone who testified on the bill to the House Special Committee On Modernizing the People’s Legislature Wednesday night supported it.

“If our state legislature truly values racial equity, it only makes sense to reduce a key barrier by supporting House Bill 3144 and promoting more representative leadership,” said Joe Curran, a civic activist with East County Rising.

Curran suggested that increasing staffing levels would help the state legislature curtail the “undue power and influence” of special interest groups by keeping its members better prepared and informed.

For state Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Happy Valley, the workload is never-ending at the Oregon Legislature.

“My husband asked me if we were in the long session, and it basically told me that he couldn’t tell whether we were in the short session or the long session because nothing ended for me,” Bynum said. “The work was continuous as we navigated through COVID, through racial protests. He never saw the work end.”

Racial equity is a top issue for House leadership in light of promises by House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, this year to confront Oregon’s “racist past” by making the statehouse a more inviting workplace for its members of color.

Last November saw the Oregon Legislature welcome more women and people of color, but the body is still largely comprised of retirees, entrepreneurs, and white collar professionals. They include Senate Minority Leader Fred Girod, R-Lyons, a retired dentist, and Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, who teaches at Western Oregon University.

“The way our system is set up right now, only the retired, the self-employed, or folks that are really willing to live in a poverty level can serve,” said state Rep. Mark Meek, D-Clackamas.

Base salaries in the Oregon Legislature pale in comparison to those of big states like California and New York where state lawmakers make annual salaries of more than $100,000. But even smaller states like Delaware pay state lawmakers as much as $47,291 per year.

Annual pay rates for Oregon’s statewide offices are far higher by comparison.

Judges sitting in Oregon’s high courts are the only elected officials in the state to take in six-figure salaries. The Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court sees the biggest payout of $128,566 per year, followed closely by state Supreme Court justices and the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals.

The governor and attorney general make $93,600 and $77,000 per year, respectively, while the treasurer, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, and labor commissioner each make $72,000 annually.

Other Oregonians point out that unlike the governor or attorney general, state lawmakers effectively work a part-time job and are typically in session half of the year or less with health insurance coverage.

“Yes, it can be a struggle for some legislators to serve, since it is part-time,” said one Salem-Keizer resident, Karen Okada. “Oregon has a part-time legislative system. Legislators currently earn more than a part-time wage.”

Okada, the daughter of former state representative and lawyer, Eldon Johnson of Medford, says the sacrifice of the office was worth it to people like her father.

“It can be hard for citizen legislators to keep their current employment and business during session,” Okada said. “Lawyers lose clients. It was a huge struggle for my dad to run his business when he was in session. But he and most other legislators feel it’s worth it. It’s their contribution to society.”

In the meantime, making the Oregon Legislature more reflective of its constituents cannot come soon enough, Bynum told the committee Monday.

“I think my patience has grown short for always being told to wait for justice,” Bynum told the committee on Monday. “I’m not interested in waiting that much longer.”

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