When members of the Citizens’ Committee on Legislative Compensation got down to brass tacks, it took them just 17 minutes of discussion and votes to decide on a pay raise for legislators and legislative leaders. The decision, which seemed to come from nowhere, means the largest pay raise in several decades. 

The committee met early in the morning after the presidential election. Three people testified against the original proposal, which called for a pay raise of up to 43%. The Idaho Freedom Foundation’s own policy director was joined by incoming Rep. David Leavitt, but the committee still provided a smaller, albeit very large – 22% – pay increase for legislators in 2025. 

Senate President Pro Tempore Winder, who is leaving the Legislature when his term ends at the end of the month, defended the large increase without providing any solid rationale. When asked if he could describe the total package, he demurred and offered the services of the legislative staff. Perhaps he was playing the role of the fall guy since he won’t face the voters. His leadership colleagues, who also proposed the pay raise, were not there to defend it. 

The process was laughable and here is why.

The House and Senate leadership had proposed a pay increase of up to 43% for members. While the committee didn’t accept the proposal, it did give leadership an increase that was about half the requested amount. It’s an old negotiating trick, shoot for the moon and settle for something still big!

The real problem is how the committee got to the number. One member made a motion to increase the part-time legislative salary of $19,913 to $25,000 per year. The percentage and how it was derived were never discussed except with a vague reference to other state employees. No comparison to other states’ part-time legislators was discussed in conjunction, either. In fact, the committee chairman had in his possession a template for providing a specific percentage increase, but it went unused.

For over two decades, the committee has selected a percentage increase tied to a cost of living adjustment, when an increase was provided. So, the current $19,913 represented a 2.7% increase from the previous year’s salary of $19,394. And the year before that, the pay was $18,875. The committee also has, in years past, kept legislators’ increases consistent with those of other constitutional officers, even if the increases were not identical. In short, the committee has not in recent memory made a giant leap forward.

This year, the committee picked a number, $25,000, willy-nilly, and simply voted to adopt it. The number will make Idaho among the highest paid part-time legislature in the country. We already know, based on 2024 data, that Idaho’s legislative pay was consistent with that for other part-time legislatures. When it was $19,913, it was only a hair above the national average. So, why this great leap forward? It doesn’t make sense.

The process was not stellar, there was no apparent deep thinking on the precision of the pay structure and the incentives it creates for the legislature. The resulting recommendation seems outsized and unwarranted, and something more reasonable ought to be done. 

We would suggest that the Legislature, once in session, adopt a resolution to reduce the increase to a 3% increase each year for 2025 and 2026. A review of the entire compensation package may be in order, including the benefits such as pensions and very-low-cost health insurance. Trade-offs between salary and benefits should be on the table. But evaluating those trade-offs can’t be done in one morning. And it can’t be done by picking numbers out of thin air.