And increase their per diem allowance
Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, is seeking to nearly double lawmakers’ daily allowance and triple their salary. He also wants to remove the public’s say on future changes to legislators’ salary, Arizona Capitol Times reports.
Lawmakers’ daily allowance rate hasn’t been adjusted in nearly 30 years, and they also have not seen a pay raise in 20 years. Thorpe says thathas made it difficult for legislators who aren’t retired, self-employed or independently wealthy to make ends meet.
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Thorpe said for lawmakers who live outside of Maricopa County, the new rate would work out to roughly $110 per day for meals and lodging, nearly doubling the current rate.
Thorpe also introduced HCR2016, which seeks to amend the Arizona Constitution to increase legislative pay beginning in 2020 to equal the annual salary of a supervisor from a county with a population of 500,000 or more. That would more than triple lawmakers’ salary – from $24,000 to $76,000 a year.
Still, Thorpe knows his proposals will be a hard sell not only to his colleagues but also to voters.
“The voters are pretty fickle, so I don’t know if they would support it or not,” he told Capitol Times. “It’s a political gamble, but it’s the right thing to do.”
