Here’s why Mass. legislators could get a pay raise during a global pandemic
A law passed in 2017 is partially responsible.
Massachusetts lawmakers are slated to receive a pay bump, in certain cases by as much as $9,000 for some of Beacon Hill’s leading figures.
The commonwealth’s 200 senators and representatives will see an increase of $4,280 to their base salaries and a 4.89 percent raise to their office expense accounts, according to The Boston Globe. The latter category currently ranges from $16,245 to $21,660 depending on the distance each legislator lives from the State House.
Dozens — such as committee chairs and other high ranking lawmakers — will also receive a 4.89 percent increase to their legislative stipends, the newspaper reports.
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In practice, that translates to an approximately $9,000 raise for Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano, who would make close to a total of $178,500 annually with the spike, the Globe reports. Additionally, constitutional officers like Gov. Charlie Baker could see raises between $8,000 and $9,000.
The pay changes come as the result of two mechanisms.
One within the state Constitution connects a legislator’s base pay to household median income, although what the raises actually look like is a decision left to the governor, according to the Globe.
Baker wrote to state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg last week to order a 6.46 percent increase for lawmakers, bumping up base salaries from $66,250 to about $70,530. The governor ordered a 5.9 percent raise for 2019.
The second lever behind the raises lies in an $18 million, 2017 legislative package that provided significant pay raises on Beacon Hill by, in part, boosting the stipends lawmakers can receive, the Globe reports.
The law also provided another process that connected the salaries of the state’s six constitutional officers and the additional pay raises for legislators to changes in state wages in the past two years, according to the newspaper.
Goldberg’s office has determined constitutional officers can get a 4.89 percent raise this year, starting last week, and a 4.89 percent increase for leadership stipends and legislator expenses.
However, whether lawmakers will get the boost in pay is at their discretion.
A spokesperson for Baker said neither the governor nor Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito will accept their increases, according to the Globe. Goldberg told the newspaper in a statement she will also decline the raise.
A spokesperson for Mariano, however, told the Globe the newly elected speaker will accept his raise.
Staff for Spilka, Attorney General Maura Healey, Secretary of State William Galvin, and Auditor Suzanne Bump did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the newspaper last week.
The pay bumps come as the financial strain brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip Massachusetts and the country at large. Local businesses have struggled to keep their doors open, while many remain out of work.
As of November, the state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent from 7.4 percent the previous month, though that amount is still double what the rate was one year ago, according to the Globe.
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