Lawmakers have avoided raising salaries and pensions for more than a decade, fearing a public backlash from voters.
But legislative leaders said this meant that the assembly was mostly filled with wealthy people, managers and retirees who could take three months off during the session, and people who could get by on low wages.
State legislators were paid $17,342 a year during the 2021 session. They received a daily allowance of $173 while in session, during committee meetings, or while doing other authorized legislative work. Their pension was $36 a month for each year they served as members of the General Assembly.
Lawmakers also receive much-needed state health insurance benefits.
Last year, the salary was increased to $22,342 per year, the per diem to $247, and the pension to $50 per month per year of service.
In this legislative session, lawmakers approved further pay raises for state employees, bringing their salaries to $24,342, and Bentley’s bill, if approved in 2024, would provide a $75 monthly pension for each year of service when he retires. will increase to
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution calculations, based on figures released by the State Department of Finance, show that amendments approved in the past two years would cost the average Georgia legislator $36,000 to $40,000 a year in salary and per diem. It will be collected in the range of $1000. A section of the General Assembly.
That’s far less than the base salary in Alabama, where a legislator makes about $54,000, according to the National Congress of State Legislatures, while other surrounding states have salaries that are on par with or lower than Georgia’s.
The state pension paid to legislators in Georgia is not expensive. Before last year’s change, lawmakers who retired after serving 20 years were to receive an annual pension of $8,640 if eligible for collection. Bentley’s bill, if passed in 2024, would raise it to $18,000 a year.
State legislators are considered part-time wages part-time jobs. But every winter in Atlanta, after he passes legislation for 40 days, lawmakers return to the world of meetings, speeches, serving voters and local politics.
Low salaries are often cited by young and mid-career professionals when they leave the General Assembly after a few years. They say they cannot afford to serve while supporting their families. Many people end up lobbying former colleagues and earning 10 to 20 times more than they earned from making the law.
Opponents of the raise argue that lawmakers knew what the salaries and benefits would look like when they decided to run. They stress that they want to keep the Citizens General Assembly, where lawmakers meet in Atlanta, pass laws and state budgets, and then return to their communities, jobs, and lives.
The 54,000 retired state employees who have campaigned for years for a higher cost-of-living pension want to be on the same page as lawmakers. The statutory pension plan accounts for more than 100% of his funds needed to pay benefits, while employee retirement plans have ranged between 70% and 75% in recent years.ERS Board to manage funds, Recently, Congressional Retirement System beneficiaries were given a larger increase in cost of living than ERS beneficiaries.
“I wish the ERS had extra funding so I could participate (in the increase),” said Chuck Friedman, a former state budget official who works for the Georgia Retirees Association. “I wish the rest of us had that too.”
What Georgia legislators get
Annual Base Salary: $24,341 due to recently approved cost of living increases for state employees.
Per diem: $247 per day during sessions, committee meetings, or other authorized state work
According to the National Congress of State Legislatures, the base salaries for legislators in neighboring states in 2022, excluding per diems, are as follows:
Alabama: $53,956
Florida: $29,697
North Carolina: $13,951
Tennessee: $24,316
South Carolina: $10,400
