SB 1566 Amendment Would Increase Legislator Pay Even More, INCREASING July 2023 Pay By $29,200 to $30,500

In my prior post I pointed out the multiple problems with SB 1566 that would raise Oregon legislative base salary significantly. 

Monday a proposed amendment (-9) was posted that would switch the source of data used to determine the base salary. 

The switch would shift the source of data to exclusively the Oregon Employment Department and use covered employment [jobs subject to unemployment taxes] as the universe of wage data. 

More importantly, it's clear to me that the switch would increase the base salary of Oregon legislators even more than the earlier proposal.  

The table below shows the details. The short version: 

In July of 2023 :

• Legislator base salary would be $3,600-$4,800 higher than I previously projected.
• Compared to their inflation adjusted current base salary the new base salary of  $64,300 to $65,600 would be $29,200 to $30,500 HIGHER.  

As I have said previously I am generally in support of reasonable pay for legislators. 

However, this bill with amendments provides a huge boost in pay without ANY additional disclosure requirements. 

At a minimum the bill should be amended to 

1. Require the annual disclosure of the actual income received from outside employment for each legislator.
2. Require the annual disclosure of the actual amounts received for per diem, authorized expenses, and office allowance for each member.
3. Require the annual disclosure of salaries and expenditures to family members. 

Originally posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.