Alaska Legislature unanimously rejects automatic pay raises for lawmakers, governor and cabinet
Feb. 28—JUNEAU — The Alaska Legislature on Friday unanimously rejected automatic pay raises for legislators, the governor and department heads.
The State Officers Compensation Commission recently recommended that pay adjustments go into effect automatically every other year based on the Anchorage consumer price index. The cost-of-living adjustments were set to go into effect in 2027.
According to state law, the compensation commission is supposed to recommend pay adjustments — if needed — every other year for the state's top political officials. The recommendations go into effect unless both the House and Senate approve a measure to reject them.
The rejection measure approved Friday advanced swiftly through the Legislature this year. The Senate unanimously rejected the cost-of-living adjustments on Feb. 8; the House approved the same measure on Feb. 28.
Kodiak Republican Rep. Louise Stutes said before the final vote that the state is struggling to fund basic services with constrained finances. She said the pay raises were estimated to cost over $500,000 in total.
"Simply put, it's very poor timing and a very poor idea for us — as well as department heads and lieutenant governor and governor — to receive a pay increase," Stutes said.
Two years ago, the salary commission recommended that the Legislature receive a 67% pay raise, along with significant pay bumps for the governor and top political leaders. That followed Gov. Mike Dunleavy abruptly firing a majority of the commission's members and replacing them with new ones.
Legislators that year allowed the major salary increases to go into effect, which boosted their base level salaries from just over $50,000 per year to $84,000 annually.
The increases came after several years in which pay adjustments were not approved for lawmakers or leading members of the executive branch.
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