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Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Debate delayed on proposal to more frequently change Nebraska lawmaker compensation
State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, left, leans in to listen to State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln at a legislative retreat in Kearney on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — A legislative proposal to let an independent, nonpartisan commission set the compensation of future Nebraska state senators is now 'on pause' and will fall to the bottom of legislative priorities in 2025. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, the sponsor of Legislative Resolution 25CA, announced the decision Monday after multiple senators spoke against the proposal during its first two hours of debate on Friday. Hansen said much of the opposition focused on issues that didn't pertain to the proposal itself, and he wanted to move forward. 'In the good nature of not holding up the session for I don't know how many more hours, I think we have some other work that needs to get done,' Hansen said. Hansen said he still hopes to address the proposal later this year, or early next year, which if passed would send the final decision to voters at the November 2026 general election. Proposed legislative compensation commission advances from Nebraska committee The intent of the commission is to remove lawmakers' annual $12,000 salary from the Nebraska Constitution. Because it is in the Constitution, pay increases, or decreases, can't happen without a statewide vote, unlike other state officials. The commission could also consider health care benefits, per diems or reimbursement rates. Any compensation changes could occur no earlier than 2029, after lawmakers' current terms. Lawmakers ultimately would need to appropriate funds to cover any pay increases, Speaker John Arch of La Vista and Hansen said during debate. State Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha suggested tightening the commission's authority to make it a requirement. Voters last approved a salary increase in 1988, bumping salaries up from $400 each month ($3,600 annually) to $1,000 each month ($12,000 annually). 'It's not dead by any means,' Hansen said of his LR 25CA. 'Just want to bring it up later and get the people's work done first.' During Friday's debate, State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln and Megan Hunt of Omaha said lawmakers didn't deserve raises if they wouldn't support working families. Cavanaugh said 'we are not doing our jobs,' and she graded the Legislature's work an 'F.' 'We are nickel and diming people of Nebraska on everything,' Cavanaugh said. 'I don't feel that, in good conscience, I can support something to raise our own salary, as measly as our salary is, so long as we can't also raise resources we give to people who are 50% of the poverty level, who make less than $12,000 a year.' The progressive lawmakers pointed to proposals that they said could hurt workers or weaken protections for minimum wage, child care, affordable housing, transportation, food or education. 'They think that legislators deserve more than everyday working families, and I disagree,' Conrad said. Conrad and Hunt said supporters speaking about reinforcing institutional strength and integrity were hypocritical, with Conrad saying they were only doing so 'when it has an opportunity to benefit yourself, personally, financially, individually.' Hunt said strength comes from lawmakers with the personal integrity to stand up for the legislative branch and their constituents, 'not from a paycheck.' 'Pay raises are not going to make any lawmakers fight executive overreach,' Hunt said. 'That takes leadership and courage.' State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, whose LR 7CA would increase legislative salaries up to $30,000, said he worked with Hansen on the commission idea. Dorn and Hansen will be term-limited in January 2027. Dorn said lawmakers work an hourly wage of about $5.67 during the session and devote two to three days each week full time later in the year. He and others said it very much limits who even considers running for office. In the lead-up to the debate, Dorn said emails echoed the comments from Cavanaugh, stating: 'You're not doing a good job, you're not worth the pay that you have now.' Dorn said he turned that around in his replies based on a philosophy his dad taught him, that 'you get what you pay for.' 'When we're answering those emails, I'm telling those people that if you're complaining about the senators and low quality of people we have up here, just remember, you get what you pay for, and that happens quite often in life,' Dorn said. State Sen. Christy Armendariz of Omaha said that when she was considering running for office for the 2022 election, she approached her predecessor, former State Sen. Brett Lindstrom, and told him she needed to keep her full-time job. Lindstrom hesitated, she said, but told her he thought she could pull it off. And she did for her first two years, working 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and working weekends. But this year, she said she realized that wasn't a sustainable path and that she wasn't giving '100%' to either her constituents or her full-time position. So, she quit. 'It just isn't my nature to do anything part way,' Armendariz said. Armendariz said she would still run again, knowing it is a volunteer position, but 'we're really, really far away from getting super valuable people on the floor, unless they are self-funded in some other way.' 'I do think it is fair, since the people are the ones that are the recipients of what is done on this floor, the people should be the ones to make a decision whether they want to expand that pool of people that can be elected,' Armendariz said. State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, both of Omaha, as well as Cavanaugh and Hunt said the Legislature needs more diversity in its membership. Similar to Armendariz, Spivey said she puts in 18 hours of work each day into her legislative duties and paid work outside the Capitol, while still needing to be a mother and wife. She said LR 25CA was a 'weird dichotomy' between what lawmakers say versus what they do. 'I would love to have more women in the body that are parents, more folks of color, working people that can really bring perspectives and advocate for Nebraskans in a way in which I think that doesn't always happen currently, or in our history,' Spivey said. McKinney said something needs to change, which could help people 'who care' decide to run. State Sen. Rob Dover of Norfolk said the proposal was a good idea but was 'probably the right bill at a wrong time.' He pointed to the state's $457 million projected budget shortfall for the next two years, prior to any legislative action. Dover asked why the proposal was coming up while the state is considering cutting dollars for public health, the University of Nebraska, cancer research, dual credit reimbursement and affordable housing. 'It makes no sense to me whatsoever,' Dover said. Dover, who will be term-limited in January 2029, warned his colleagues running for future office that if they voted for the proposal, it was a matter of when, not if, they'd have a mailer attacking them for doing so. Conrad agreed and pointed to former State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha who was blasted for a similar 2018 proposal. Conrad said LR 25CA was 'nothing more than another political trap.' 'It's not a good faith effort to strengthen the institution,' she said. 'It's an effort to force Nebraska legislators to continually vote on their own pay raise and to use it against them at election time.' Hansen said that if lawmakers do a 'crappy job,' which he said he feels has happened in some years, the commission could decide to cut compensation. 'They could actually lower our pay, that's what I love about this,' Hansen said. 'The onus is on us, as representatives of the people of Nebraska to do a good job, to listen, to do the people's work. And if we don't, we could be SOL.' It will ultimately be up to Speaker Arch whether he reschedules the measure. The proposal has about six hours left on first-round debate and would face two more debates, if advanced. At least 30 lawmakers would need to approve the bill on final reading. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed legislative compensation commission advances from Nebraska committee
Nebraska lawmakers joined for a group photo at the end of the 2023 legislative session on Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Not pictured: State Sens. Ray Aguilar, John Cavanaugh, Machaela Cavanaugh, Jen Day, Myron Dorn, Megan Hunt, Lou Ann Linehan, Mike McDonnell, Terrell McKinney, Mike Moser, Julie Slama and Justin Wayne. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — Compensation for Nebraska's 49 state senators could be removed from the state constitution, possibly making it easier to change the annual $12,000 salary. The Nebraska Legislature's Executive Board, the top-ranking committee overseeing daily legislative operations, voted unanimously Wednesday to advance Legislative Resolution 25CA, which would create a 'nonpartisan, independent legislative compensation commission.' The proposed constitutional amendment would remove the requirement that voters approve any pay increase for legislators at the ballot box and put that power in the hands of the newly created commission. Voters last approved a pay increase narrowly in the 1988 primary election, raising state senators' monthly salary from $300 a month (or $4,800 annually) to $1,000 a month (or $12,000 annually). Voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed pay increase in 2012. The latest proposal, from State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, who chairs the Executive Board, would go to voters in November 2026 if passed by the Legislature. Hansen, after the 9-0 vote, told the Nebraska Examiner he views LR 25CA as a 'thoughtful approach' that keeps citizens in the driver's seat of setting legislative pay because Nebraskans would make up the commission. 'This just kind of brings it in front of them now,' Hansen said. 'I'm hoping that we can have a more objective approach and have studies brought in, see what other states do, and making sure it's done appropriately.' The Executive Board has designated the measure as a 2025 priority, increasing the chances it will be debated this year. Future lawmakers would need to set specific parameters for the commission, such as the number of members, a method for appointing commissioners or which branch of government controls the commission. Gavin Geis, executive director for Common Cause Nebraska, favored Hansen's constitutional amendment at its public hearing but cautioned it could be immediately criticized if lawmakers choose to retain oversight of and appointment power over the commission. 'That feels like a conflict,' Geis testified. 'It feels like an easy angle of attack for anyone who wants to go after this amendment.' The first pay change for lawmakers under Hansen's amendment could come in 2029. The commission would be charged with setting the compensation for lawmakers, which Hansen described as setting a 'ceiling.' Commissioners could choose to lower compensation, including down to $0, and lawmakers could ultimately choose to set lower salaries — but not higher — through the annual appropriations process. The commission, as proposed, could not include: Any current or former member of the Legislature, or their spouse. Any current or former employee of the Legislature. Any current or former registered lobbyist in Nebraska. Any current or former judge in the state. Any current or former statewide elected official of Nebraska. Any current or former Nebraska state employee. State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, a Democrat from Omaha, proposed LR 283CA in 2024 for a 'Legislative Salary Commission' with members appointed by the chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court and the governor. It included nearly identical member restrictions as Hansen. It did not advance from the Executive Board. State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, a fellow Executive Board member, also proposed LR 7CA this year, which would increase legislative salaries to $30,000, if approved by voters in 2026. That's closely tied to inflation since 1988, Dorn said. Hansen's original proposal would have given lawmakers equivalent health insurance as Nebraskans on Medicaid and tied lawmaker pay to minimum wage. Hansen said he envisioned that as roughly 40 weekly hours during legislative sessions and 20 weekly hours when lawmakers are out of session. That would have netted senators about $30,000 or more in a year. The state minimum wage is currently set to rise to $15 in 2026, followed by annual cost-of-living increases. LR 25CA, as advanced, would instead put the pay decision entirely on the commission, which Hansen broadened to include 'compensation.' That step means the commission also would consider daily per diem rates, other reimbursements and health care. The proposal would not automatically give lawmakers health care benefits. At the public hearing for LR 25CA, Hansen and State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte said the commission could set different pay levels for legislative leadership. Heidi Uhing, public policy director for Civic Nebraska, which worked with Hansen on his measure, said Wednesday that his proposal 'rightly recognizes that a nonpartisan, independent commission of Nebraskans would be best suited to set their senators' salaries over time.' 'This commission would be responsive to the duties and time commitment of the job, and adjust as needed in decades to come,' she said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner. 'It's an elegant way to empower the public to have more oversight over the Legislature, while making it financially possible for more working Nebraskans to consider serving as a state senator.' Republicans and Democrats have sought to raise legislative salaries in recent years, including former State Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh, a Republican from Omaha, between 2007 and 2014, and former State Sen. Tony Vargas, a Democrat from Omaha, between 2017 and January 2025. Lautenbaugh's attempt reached the ballot in 2012 and would have increased pay to $22,500. Lawmakers approved the measure 31-15, but voters overwhelmingly rejected it, in part because of opposition from then-Gov. Dave Heineman. When they served in the Legislature in 2012, U.S. Rep. Mike Flood of Norfolk supported Lautenbaugh's motion while U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, then representing north-central Nebraska, opposed the increase. Both are Republicans. Vargas' attempt in 2018 would have set state senators' pay equal to half of the state's median income. It didn't advance from the Executive Board. Leading that effort became a sticking point for Vargas during his 2022 and 2024 U.S. House campaigns in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb. Third-party ads criticized the South Omaha lawmaker. One 2024 ad from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Super PAC uplifting Republican House candidates, said Vargas sought to 'double his salary, giving politicians like him a big fat raise and sticking taxpayers with the tab.' Vargas' bill received cosponsorship from Republicans, including former State Sens. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, Tom Briese of Albion (who is now state treasurer), Mike Groene of North Platte, Steve Halloran of Hastings and Dan Hughes of Venango. Bacon told Channel 3 KMTV News Now Omaha in 2022 that he didn't make the proposal an issue and hadn't brought it up in debates. 'But I think it's fair for others to want to do so, because, frankly, most Nebraskans oppose it,' Bacon said at the time. He makes $174,000 as a House member. Hansen cited a recent poll regarding the idea of his commission, stating that 66% of respondents said they would favor the idea if it were placed on the ballot. The Executive Board is still mulling separate constitutional amendments from State Sens. Rob Dover of Norfolk, a Republican, and Megan Hunt of Omaha, a nonpartisan progressive, that could extend legislative term limits to three four-year terms — LR 19CA (Dover) and LR 27CA (Hunt). Term limits and senator pay both appeared on the 2012 ballot and failed in each of Nebraska's 93 counties. Hansen, Uhing and Dorn have noted that increased legislative compensation could diversify representation in the Legislature, which largely consists of people who are retired, semi-retired, self-employed or whose jobs allow enough flexibility to leave for long periods of time. Hansen said the low salary 'isn't sustainable.' 'Nebraska is an important state with sophisticated policy needs,' Uhing testified on LR 25CA. 'We need a future of lawmakers whose diversity of experience continues to be up to the task.' Current compensation paid to lawmakers who reside within 50 miles from the State Capitol: $68 per diem for each session day they are in attendance (up to $6,120 in a 90-day session). Mileage reimbursement (at a current rate of 70 cents per mile). Actual expenses during the interim between legislative sessions. $12,000 annual salary. Current compensation paid to lawmakers who reside more than 50 miles from the State Capitol: $178 per diem for each session day they are in attendance (up to $16,020 in a 90-day session). Mileage reimbursement for one round trip per week from home to the Capitol (at a current rate of 70 cents per mile), only if they are in attendance at least one day during that calendar week. Actual expenses during the interim between legislative sessions. $12,000 annual salary. Per diem rates are set to follow the corresponding federal reimbursement rate set by the U.S. General Services Administration. Specific dollar amounts on past per diems or reimbursements paid to lawmakers were not immediately available. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
