Washington’s governor, attorney general and state lawmakers are in line for hefty pay raises in the next two years.

And salaries for the state’s seven other executives and hundreds of judges will climb as well — though not as fast — as a result of decisions Wednesday by the independent citizen commission that sets pay scales for the state’s legislative, executive and judicial branches.

Legislators will get a 16% wage hike and the governor and attorney general will receive a 14% raise under the new salaries approved at a meeting in Tumwater by the Washington Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.

Commissioners agreed every position should receive a cost-of-living adjustment of 3% on July 1 and 2% a year later. Then they tacked on extra for lawmakers and the two executive posts.

Dollars and cents

Legislators, who currently earn $61,997 annually, would receive a total 9% increase in July, bringing their pay to $67,688, and 7% a year later, pushing their salary to $72,494. Leaders of the four caucuses will continue to earn more because they receive a stipend for added responsibilities.

Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown will get 7% raises in each of the next two fiscal years – a big jump from the 5% increase over two years that commissioners proposed in October. The changes approved Wednesday will push Ferguson’s annual wage from $204,205 to $234,275 and Brown’s from $193,169 to $221,614. 

Washington’s seven other executives — lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, superintendent of public instruction, insurance commissioner, treasurer and commissioner of public lands would get cost-of-living adjustments only. 

Judges, including state Supreme Court justices, would receive boosts totaling 4% in July and 3% a year later.

Elected officials and judges cannot alter what the commission approves and the Legislature and the governor must fund the pay changes in the budget.

When the salary schedule is filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, there will be a 90-day period in which a referendum can be filed. If none is filed, the salaries will become law.

Commissioners said Wednesday, as they have throughout the process, they didn’t think pay for legislators and those two statewide executives had kept pace with inflation and, more importantly, the growing demands of the jobs.

If legislator salaries are too low, people like working parents, small business owners and young adults will feel they cannot afford to serve in what is intended to be a citizen Legislature. If they do make it into office, they may be unable to devote as much time to their duties because they cannot afford to miss time at their day job.

“If we want to encourage them to be connected to their constituencies, we have to give them more time to do that,” said Commissioner Kirsten Barron.

But commissioners had their limits. A motion to boost legislators’ pay an additional $10,000 was overwhelmingly defeated due to concerns of a negative public reaction.

“If we go too far too fast on this, it’s going to sink the whole thing,” said Commissioner Erik Arnold.

Jon Bridge, the commission chair, said they have to be mindful of the looming budget shortfall and how the public might react to what they perceive as too large of an increase. A successful referendum means the entire salary schedule “goes out the window” and no increases for members of the legislative, executive and judicial branches for two years.

Wednesday’s hearing was the panel’s fourth since first proposing a schedule in October.

A biennial rite 

Voters established the salary commission in 1987 to end the practice of politicians deciding their own pay. Though funded by the state, it operates independent of the legislative, executive and judicial branches.

Its 17 unpaid members include residents randomly selected from the state’s 10 congressional districts plus representatives of business, organized labor and higher education. Also represented are the legal and human resources professions.

Every two years this panel comes together to consider salary changes. Commissioners are supposed to base decisions on the duties of the job — not the man or woman doing it at the time. They don’t have to give any raises, but they cannot lower the salary of anyone in office.

This story is republished from the Washington State Standard, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that provides original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politics.