Bill Description: Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 would reject the 22% legislative pay increase and revert legislative pay rates to pre-increase levels.

Rating: +1

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

In 2024, the Citizens' Committee on Legislative Compensation proposed a significant pay increase for legislators, growing their annual base pay from $19,913 to $25,000, an increase of 25.5%. When factoring in additional compensation for constituent services and per-diem reimbursements, the weighted increase is 22.1%. The projected cost of this increase is $658,000 annually. 

Under Idaho law, the pay increase proposed by the committee goes into effect automatically, but the Legislature has the authority to reject or reduce the rates of compensation through a concurrent resolution. 

Senate Concurrent Resolution 101 would reject this pay increase, saying, "with Idahoans facing increasing costs for essential goods and services such as food, housing, and energy, the Legislature must exercise fiscal responsibility by prioritizing the needs of Idaho residents over increasing government growth and higher legislator compensation."

Because the pay raise has already gone into effect, the resolution clarifies that any higher compensation already paid based on the increase would not need to be repaid, so the first-year savings would be somewhat reduced.

It's worth noting here that with very few exceptions, any money that government spends or appropriates is taken from the people through taxes, fees, debt, or other assessments. The additional spending called for in the pay increase rejected by this resolution would come from taxpayers in one form or another.

Rejecting the pay increase saves Idaho taxpayers money.

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