Kansas legislators have been busy hacking hundred-million dollar chunks from Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget for state services while creating ways to carve out a pay increase for themselves.
For openers, Republicans ruling the Senate (29-11) want to eliminate money for expanding Medicaid, stop a pay increase for state employees and quash a $500 million transfer to the state’s savings fund. They also would cut $50 million for matching federal grants and $30 million more for nursing homes that have Medicaid clients.
Senate Bill 10, quietly hidden away, would more than triple legislative pay from $88 a day to $320.
But in the House, members voted 96-29 to bypass direct involvement with pay and create a special commission to propose new and higher salaries for Kansas legislators.
Lawmakers worried that proposing their own pay increase while cutting funds for social programs and state employees might send an awkward message; they want a nine-member commission to do it. Members would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders of both parties. (Panel members cannot be current legislators, lobbyists or legislative staff.)
The commission is to convene in August and draft a new salary schedule in time for the legislature’s opening business in January 2024.
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Base pay for Kansas legislators is $88.66 per day plus $157 daily for living expenses during a 90-day session. From April through December when not in session, they receive $354 every two weeks for “constituent services”. They also get a 56-cents per mile travel allowance. Base total, roughly $22,000 a year. Committee chairmen and legislative leaders are paid more, depending on rank. State-financed health insurance is provided.
Kansas House members and Senators are paid less than counterparts in some other states. The National Conference of State Legislatures keeps, among its many files, a record of pay for states’ legislators.
Our neighbors’:
According to the NCSL, Colorado legislators receive a base pay of $40,242 annually. Those living within50 miles of the capital get $45daily living expenses; those more than 50 miles, $234 daily. Mileage allowance, 56 cents per mile.
Nebraska legislators are paid $12,000 annually, get 58 cents per mile and a $155 daily living allowance while in session if from beyond 50 miles. Within 50 miles, the allowance is $59 daily.
At Oklahoma City, legislators are paid $47,500 annually, get 56-cents a mile and a $165 daily living allowance while in session.
Missouri legislators are paid $36,813 annually, receive a $124 daily living allowance (in session) and get 49 cents a mile for travel.
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It may appear that Kansas legislators are on the short end, at least compared with their neighbors. But beneath the veneer of paltry wages lies a one-of-a-kind, gold-plated retirement plan sealed with a taxpayer guarantee.
No other state offers such a package. The Kansas legislative pension is unique because it “annualizes” legislators’ part-time wages to create a full-time pension, one based on a year that has 372 days. Legislators’ salaries and living expenses for the 90-day session are calculated as if paid 31 days a month for 12 months. Thus, at a combined daily and per diem of $245, Kansas legislative pensions are based on annual salaries of more than $91,000.
More than160 retired legislators today draw from $1,000 to more than $60,000 annually, depending on years of service. They can increase their payout by contributing extra so that in time, service in the military, the Peace Corps, even local councils or commissions counts toward their total pension. When legislators claim for time on local elected boards or other public service, taxpayers roughly double the lawmakers’ contribution to the pension.
No other participants in Kansas’ public employees retirement system have that choice. It’s for legislators only. (Per diem living expenses are not taxed and have increased 28 percent in ten years.)
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Kansas legislators hold bipartisan anxiety about their pay and what seems a vow of silence about their exclusive and generous pension. Led by Republicans, they are anxious to launder a pay upgrade through their new commission. And while legislators, led by Republicans, hack away at the state budget, their pensions remain safe, special and untouchable privileges that others can only dream of having.
