Effective next year, Kansas lawmakers will earn almost twice the compensation they currently have.
It’s an increase of nearly $28,000 a year for rank-and-file legislators, raising their total compensation to nearly $58,000. Lawmakers in leadership roles will see even larger gains, with the Kansas House speaker and Senate president bringing in $85,000, up from 44 thousand dollars per year.
The increase was recommended by a bipartisan pay commission that was created last year, and the proposal was to take effect unless both chambers passed a resolution to reject it. A move to debate the increase failed last week in the Senate, and there was no action in the House.
Some lawmakers have complained that the current $30,000 compensation is not enough to live on year-round, and serving in the Legislature makes it difficult to find outside work or hold down other jobs. Critics say the raises will put Kansas lawmakers on a higher pay scale than their counterparts in significantly larger and more prosperous states.
