Bill proposes citizen commission to set Nevada officials’ pay

Nevada Assemblymen Tyrone Thompson, D-North Las Vegas, left, and David Gardner, R-Las Vegas, take the oath of office during opening day ceremonies at the Legislative Building in Carson City on Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. (Cathleen Allison/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

CARSON CITY — Talking about salary and whether you deserve a raise is uncomfortable, especially if forced to vote in public to increase your take from taxpayers.

Some Nevada lawmakers want to change that with a constitutional amendment creating an appointed citizen commission to evaluate and set salaries for legislators, constitutional officers and judges.

Assembly Joint Resolution 10, which has been approved unanimously by the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, now moves to the Assembly floor.

The measure, introduced by Assemblywoman Victoria Dooling, R-Henderson, and four Southern Nevada Republican co-sponsors, also would allow lawmakers to receive a salary for every day worked by repealing a constitutional provision that limits pay to 60 days — only half of the 120-day sessions held every two years.

The last session to conclude in less than 60 says was in 1960, which lasted 55 days. Nevada voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1998 imposing a 120-day time limit for lawmakers to get their work done.

“I believe it is very difficult for elected officials to have a serious and fact-based discussion about their own compensation,” Dooling said during testimony before the committee in March.

“The main idea is to say we as legislators should not be setting our own salaries,” co-sponsor Assemblyman David Gardner, R-Las Vegas, said.

“It’s always awkward to be saying, ‘I want to vote myself a raise,’ ” Gardner said.

Under the proposal, the commission could increase or decrease the salaries for elected officers by not more than 15 percent, though once set, it could not reduce pay for incumbents during their term in office.

The Nevada Legislature created a commission in 1993 to review and recommend compensation for state elected officials, but its role was advisory and required enactment by lawmakers.

Dooling said the commission has been inactive.

Salaries are now set in statutes. For constitutional officers and legislators, salary increases are tied to pay increases given to state classified employees.

Rick Combs, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau, said the last time legislator salaries increased was in November 2008, when the pay rate was raised to $146.29 per day, up from $137.90. The raise was based on a 2 percent cost-of-living increase approved for state employees effective July 1, 2007, and a 4 percent increase that took effect the following year.

During the recession, when state employees were required to take furloughs, lawmakers voluntarily reduced their pay by the same equivalent, dropping it to $142.93 per day this session.

But salary is not the only compensation Nevada lawmakers get. This session they also receive a $148 per diem allowance that is not limited to the first 60 days. Legislators in leadership positions, including the lieutenant governor, caucus leaders, the president pro tem and committee chairmen, get an extra $900 at the start of the session.

Salary plus per diem for a 120-day session equates to base compensation of $26,335.

But lawmakers also can receive up to $10,000 for moving expenses or furniture rental and travel costs. Legislators who live more than 50 miles from the Legislative Building also can tap those funds for temporary housing if they move to Carson City for the session. Most of the legislators are from Southern Nevada, 450 miles south of the state capital.

State Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, has long supported “fixing” legislator pay. In 2013, he sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 8, which calls for annual legislative sessions of 30 days in even-numbered years and 90 days in odd years.

The resolution passed mostly along party lines two years ago. It must be approved again this session for it to advance to the ballot in 2016, though with Republicans in control of both chambers its prospects seem unlikely.

Segerblom said his proposal would let the Legislature respond more quickly to economic conditions. Legislators also would be paid for each of the 120 days over the two years.

“The reality is you get what you pay for,” Segerblom said. He said too many qualified candidates want to serve but can’t afford to put their own jobs and salaries on hold.

“This is not a four-months-every-two-years commitment,” he said, noting legislators between sessions are assigned to interim committees.

Nevada legislators are neither the highest nor lowest paid in the country.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, lawmakers last year were paid $90,526 in California, $79,500 in New York and $67,836 in Illinois, not including per diem.

On the other end of the spectrum is New Hampshire, where lawmakers receive $200 for a two-year term. Period.

New Mexico lawmakers receive no salary, just $159 per diem.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.