NY legislators raise their salaries from $110,000 to $142,000

• Legislators from New York’s Assembly and Senate returned to the state capital this week to vote themselves a pay raise, which would make them the best-paid state lawmakers in the US
• Under a bill they passed during a special session, the lawmakers would be paid a base salary of $142,000, a 29 percent raise over their current pay of $110,000
• According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the pay rise would make the lawmakers better paid than state lawmakers in California

ALBANY, New York: Legislators from New York’s Assembly and Senate returned to the state capital this week to vote themselves a pay raise, which would make them the best-paid state lawmakers in the US.

Under a bill they passed during a special session, the lawmakers would be paid a base salary of $142,000, a 29 percent raise over their current pay of $110,000.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the pay rise would make the lawmakers better paid than state lawmakers in California, who are currently the best-paid American legislators with a yearly base pay of about $119,000.

However, the New York lawmakers would face restrictions for the first time on how much they can make from other jobs, with their other income being capped at $35,000 beginning in 2025.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, said legislators work hard around the year and deserved a raise to cover higher living costs.

“It is a full time job. Sooner or later, in order to be able to afford to do the job, we have to raise pay,” she said.

In a statement, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said, “The raise is patently offensive to the people we represent. Albany’s One Party Ruling Class continues to put their own misplaced priorities first.”

Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said she supports the idea of a raise for the Legislature, but has not confirmed whether she would sign the bill.

After the bill was introduced, some government transparency and watchdog groups said that it will not adequately regulate outside income.

Rachael Fauss, senior policy advisor at the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany, said, “The public really deserves to know that their elected officials are working just for them and they do not have any other interests in mind,” as quoted by the Associated Press.

However, the pay raise would help the Legislature retain quality members who could make more in the private sector, said Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, a Democrat.

“We have had an unhealthy churning and turnover, particularly from downstate members,” she said, according to the Associated Press.

New York’s legislators received their last pay raise in 2018.