Lawmakers in NC step gingerly on issue of their pay

A proposed new subcommittee that could examine possible changes to state lawmakers’ pay and schedule – a politically sensitive topic – drew just one volunteer upon its mention this week.

Sen. Stan Bingham, a Davidson County Republican who does not plan to run for re-election in 2016, was the only member of the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee to step forward after a presentation that put North Carolina low among states in terms of base salary and per diem afforded to lawmakers.

The presenters, from the National Conference of State Legislatures, also looked at North Carolina’s legislative schedule versus other states’ and offered input on how technology – like videoconferencing – could improve access to Raleigh meetings.

The proposed subcommittee would look at all three topics, according to Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, a Cabarrus County Republican and a chairman on the oversight panel.

A fellow chairman, Rep. Craig Horn, a Union County Republican, was not present in the meeting Wednesday but has been among legislators calling for change in how the General Assembly compensates its members for the time they invest.

The current rank-and-file base salary of $13,951 a year, with a $104 per diem and 29-cent-per-mile driving reimbursement, “does not attract many people,” Horn said in a recent interview. Lawmakers also get a monthly expense allotment that starts at $559 and is sometimes reinvested in legislative work. All in all, it can add up to $30,000 to $40,000 a year.

“Young, bright, and maybe not-so-young bright people ... can’t afford to do this,” said Horn.

But a magic balance of pay and time remains elusive, and looking to other states might be misguided as landscapes and needs vary, lawmakers heard as NCSL presented findings on Wednesday.

The presentation was at the request of the oversight committee.

Laura Rose, the Colorado-based group’s director of legislative management, indicated North Carolina might need a sit-down with itself to decide what kind of legislature is appropriate for the future. That, she said, can become a formula for pay and schedule.

A true, part-time “citizen legislature,” Rose suggested, would require a salary and schedule that can support everyday, working people.

“If the desire is to have a legislature that is in tune with the day-to-day concerns of constituents and the ability to bring real-world experience to the legislature,” she said, “then a citizen legislature might attract those candidates, because that would give them time to engage in other careers and community-based activities in addition to being a legislator.”

North Carolina has a “part-time” legislature but is one of 11 states that place no hard time limits on lawmaking sessions, according to NCSL.

California, by contrast, has a full-time legislature and pays members more than $97,000 a year. Meanwhile, Texas lawmakers each represent relatively large districts, with pay at $7,200 a year.

Members of the New Mexico legislature get a per diem of $165 a day, but receive no salary.

To avoid being seen as self-serving, lawmakers are hesitant to put forth bills to raise their own pay, which in North Carolina hasn’t changed in two decades.

“I was here the last time a real solid attempt at a pay raise was put before the body, and it was brutal,” said Sen. Louis Pate, a Wayne County Republican.

Members on the committee subsequently expressed interest in the idea of an independent commission to recommend adjustments. Hartsell said the offer stands for legislators to join the proposed subcommittee and come up with ideas.

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Lawmakers in NC step gingerly on issue of their pay."