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By Michael Bielawski
During a radio interview last week, a candidate for the Legislature said that when lawmakers return in January, they will likely revisit a bill increasing their own compensation.
S-39 was passed by both the House and Senate chambers in 2023 but was vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott. The bill featured:
- Significant pay increases for the Speaker of the House and the Senate Pro Tem
- $1200/week for each legislator when the Legislature is in regular session, usually January – May.
- Per-diem equivalent compensation during special sessions.
- 20% of the $1210 when the session is adjourned, usually late May through the rest of the year.
- Mileage, meals and lodging.
- Health insurance, employee assistance, and flex spending accounts currently enjoyed by state employees.
Doug Wood, a Republican candidate for State Representative for the Chittenden 20 (Colchester) District, was on the Morning Drive radio show on Thursday when the topic of the pay raise came up. That’s when Wood said he’s heard that it’s back on the agenda.
“I’m against any pay raises and apparently that’s going to come up next session,” he said. “That’s what I heard, that’s it’s going to come up next session so they are still going to stay on there,” he said near the closing of Thursday’s show.
Sen. Russ Ingalls, R-Essex, also said in a recent phone call that the pay raise issue will be a priority item once again. “Oh it’s certainly coming up again,” Ingalls said. “They did not kill the bill.”
Ingalls proposed an amendment to S. 39, a bill that passed both chambers in 2023 but never garnered enough support to get past the governor’s desk so supporters pulled it back to the committee walls where stalled or nonstarting bills live. The bill would have effectively doubled their pay on top of new benefits.
“The first time they didn’t have enough votes to override the veto,” Ingalls said. “So they called it up back again this year [2024].” It reemerged as S. 224, a scaled-back version. Ingalls said this year that lawmakers “just knew the tea leaves” were not right for much public support and so it was shelved again.
Ingalls also said, “It’s not an election year… it’s certainly coming back next year [2025].”
The description for S. 39 details some of the benefits being sought, It states, “This bill proposes to make members of the General Assembly eligible for the State employees’ health benefit plan at no cost and to allow them to participate in any flexible spending account program offered to State employees for health care expenses or dependent care expenses, or both.”
It would also have allowed for compensation to lawmakers when the legislative session is over, which is nearly three-quarters of the year. The increased money amounts to “doubling their one future pay” according to Gov. Phil Scott’s veto letter.
“This year, the General Assembly passed several pieces of legislation that will significantly increase costs for Vermonters through new and higher taxes, fees and penalties,” Scott wrote. “In my opinion, it does not seem fair for legislators to insulate themselves from the very costs they are imposing on their constituents by doubling their own future pay.”
The reworked proposal which was S. 224 did not include new healthcare benefits but it still boosted pay by 74%. It did not get passed by either chamber.
Currently, lawmakers make around $15,000 a year and they are reimbursed for meals, lodging, and mileage. The legislative session is supposed to be for about three months of the year, but sometimes it extends longer.
Numerous media pundits panned the 2023 bill for its timing. VDC’s Paul Bean noted on his X account, “The Vermont state legislature is voting to increase their own pay so that way they can afford the high cost of living in Vermont. Meanwhile they’re only creating policies that raise the cost of living for Vermonters. (including raising their own pay) Can someone please tell me who comes up with these ideas??”
The pay raise was marketed as a way to counter the notion that only the wealthy can afford to run for office. Rep. Becca White, D-Hartford, told NBC News in April of 2023, “Serving in the Vermont Legislature is not supposed to be a career, but it’s also not supposed to be a job that only wealthy or retired folks can afford to do.”
As highlighted by political commentator Rob Roper, Rep. Casey Toof, R-St. Albans, summed up the sentiment of many when he explained his no-vote for S. 39.
“I vote no because the audacity it takes to raise our pay by 50% while simultaneously raising our budget by 13% and numerous taxes and fees is unconscionable,” Toof said on the House floor.
The senators who backed S.39 in a roll call vote are: Baruth, Bray, Brock, Clarkson, Cummings, Gulick, Hardy, Harrison, Hashim, Lyons, MacDonald, McCormack, Norris, Perchlik, Vyhovsky, Watson, Westman, White, Wrenner.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Legislation
So Vermont legislators, yes the same ones that are destroying the state with its feckless legislation, a cancer-killing the state and putting you in financial debt, and they think they deserve a raise my God, if they worked for any other company they would be fired !!
Wake up people, and put the pressure on the ” Stupid Majority ” making these decisions, all they’ll understand is if we start firing them, they work for you, not the other way around.
This again proves they don’t care about you or your family.
Fire them all.
You people must pay more for the smart and very busy critters that you keep voting for. The inflation factor is causing hard ship for these people. If you think 2024 was bad lets see what 2025 will bring. Never fear, pickpocketpowell and grammy smellen yellen over at the federal reserve are going to solve all your problems with hyperinflation and one orange will cost you five dollars.
Facebook is blocking this page. Why? Who is paying Facebook from Vermont to block this news?
Guy, you should look into this.
I have never been associated with facebook. Do yourself a favor… dump it.
@ Guy: look into Substack and/or rumble.
Facebook has their own system, surely. When we formed Green Mountain party in Vermont, a new political party we got on facebook. Then when we tried to use their system, paid advertising to network, we were informed that we were not a legitimate political party. I knew then it would be impossible to use facebook for anything of value, the fix was in.
Not only that, but we were also shut down from VTDigger from even being able to mention our parties name, I was told if any of the comments I posted had the political party in the commentary, it would be removed from the platform, which the proceeded to do.
When we were on True North Reports, we were told similar things, and I could not type the words Green Mountain Party and have the comments see the light of day.
When we tried to publish commentary across the state in other newspapers we were often met with, you are not a local community member so we will not publish your article. However, you’ll find Sanders, the Gov, many other commentaries from those in the Golden Dome published without question.
Front Porch Forum is an excellent way to spread propaganda, if you have sane, pointed arguments against the socialist nature of Montpelier, you will quickly be removed. If you talk about the wasteful money being spent by your officials you will be removed. Yet those in power regularly publish garbage and those who criticize are removed from the platform. It also gives access to everyone’s email to public officials, rather handy, no?
Vermont is curated, completely controlled by a few organizations, none of which you and I can vote for.
Thank God for Vermont Daily Chronicle. It’s one of the only sites in Vermont that allows commentary and free speech. Surely there are built in algorithms that Guy can’t control. I think AI is really for propaganda more than anything else.
I’ve got a better idea. Fire eveyone of the self important saviors of humanity ! Don’t let the door hit you on the way out !
The pay is what it is, and very generous at that. If you cannot afford this very generous paying job you should look elsewhere instead of trying to sneak one over on us taxpayers and line your pockets at our expense. They cannot do this without unknowledgeable voters, so wake up democrats, you are being fleeced.
Well, well well, s(t)upor majority….could this…perhaps be the consequences of your own actions?? Vermont unaffordable???? Having a tough time?? Huh. Imagine that.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We are a tiny state. There is no way they need to meet every year for months on end…and then work behind the scenes “off season” to think up more pain to inflict on us (OH, the reason they need a raise???) These people LOOK for crap to do. Terrible laws to pass (thinking they are *saving the world–HAA) They should be meeting EVERY OTHER YEAR for 6 weeks. Do the *NECESSARY* business and then get out. They all are just making a career out of the position…and as we’ve seen, that doesn’t turn out well for the rest of us.
Pure unadulterated greed…vote these vultures out.
Cmon man, they need the money, they have to get a pay raise so they can help pay the property tax that they just imposed.
They ought to work for free. THEN we’d find out very quickly who’s in it to truly help the people and who’s in it to screw the people.
They want a pay raise to help pay for their property tax hike, F**k them!!! excuse my english but I’m pissed off!!!! Both my wife and I are on S.S. and the increase we get is always offset because our medicare goes up as well.