Top Georgia officials who were hoping for a pay raise might want to delay any big spending binges.
State legislators Friday voted against a pair of salary hike proposals — one that would have raised their own wages and another that would have boosted the pay of Gov. Brian Kemp and other statewide elected officials. The only pay increase that was OK’d was one for Georgia judges.
The hasty reversal on the other raises came just a day after the state Senate voted to increase Kemp’s annual salary to $250,000, which would have tied him for the highest-paid governor in the nation. The raises for Kemp and other statewide elected officials were included in an amendment to the bill to raise the salaries of Georgia judges.
On Friday, the House rejected that 37% boost for Kemp as well as separate increases for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr and others. Later Friday, the Senate also backed down.
Those weren’t the only pay raises to be defeated Friday.
By a vote of 18-33, the Senate also rejected an amendment to a separate bill that would have given state legislators a big raise. Currently, they make $16,200 a year for the part-time job.
Under the amendment, legislators would make 25% of the governor’s salary, which amounts to about $43,750 a year.
Some legislators — mostly Democrats — urged their colleagues to approve the raise. They said low pay for legislators means only retirees or wealthy people can run for office.
“Stop being scared or let other folks tell you what you ought not to have,” said Sen. David Lucas, D-Macon.
Several Republicans argued against the pay hike, saying the raises would undermine the ideals of a citizen legislature and public service.
“Each one of us chose to run for this position knowing what it pays,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Macon.
The judicial pay increases approved Friday would tie judges’ pay to the salaries of federal judges in the Northern District of Georgia. One would give raises to superior court judges; the other raises pay for Georgia Supreme Court justices and other statewide judges.
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