The General Assembly offered a resounding “no” to a proposal to raise their pay and the salaries of fellow high-ranking government officials.
More than 50 Democrats and Republicans introduced a resolution Wednesday to turn down the raises, which in some cases were tens of thousands of dollars more per year.
The Delaware Compensation Commission issued a report earlier this week that would have hiked the pay of all state lawmakers – including their expense accounts.
Chief Justice Leo Strine, who’s been trying to bump up salaries for his fellow judges, would have received a $22,000 a year raise over four years.
Senate Pro Tem David McBride (D-Hawks Nest) says state lawmakers don’t need the raise.
“Nobody asked us to take this particular job. I believe that our salary is adequate and that, I might tell you, when we [created] the compensation commission, I voted against the bill,” McBride said.
Instead, he wants legislators to vote on their own raises.
So does House Minority Leader Danny Short (R-Seaford) and he plans introduce another bill restructuring the commission
“The system we have now doesn’t take into consideration strongly the economic condition that we have…and it does not have the full impact of how that might affect morale, Short said.”
Under the current system, if both chambers fail to reject the commision’s proposal, the pay raises automatically go into effect.
Legislators also rejected raises proposed by the commission in 2013. The commission didn’t recommend pay hikes in 2009 amid a deep recession.
House leaders say they expect to hold a committee meeting on the resolution next week.
