/Governor, other officials set to receive large pay raises

Governor, other officials set to receive large pay raises

These are the salary increases that will take effect if Gov. Tate Reeves signs House Bill1426 into law. John Polk, Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency chairman, informed senators before they vote that the State Personnel Board has recommended the new salaries based on the salaries in other regions. He also noted that the increases would not take effect until after the next state election. Some senators expressed concern, including Senator Hob Bryan (D-Amory), who stated plainly that he was not voting for it. With Bryan and Sens. Angela Hill, Joseph Seymour and others voted no. Sens. Jeff Tate and Kathy Chism voted for the bill. The House voted 84-20 in favor of the bill with six people voting present and twelve absent or not voting. John Read (R-Gautier), was the chairman of House Appropriations. The median household income in Mississippi is $45,081 per year, which is the lowest in the nation. Some legislators expressed concern about the bill. This was not because other elected officials were receiving a raise but because legislators weren’t. READ MORE: A bill to raise the pay of legislators dies quietly. Senator Sollie Norwood (D-Jackson) said that there was no discussion about why a raise for legislators wasn’t being considered. Polk reminded legislators that a bill to raise the pay of lawmakers was defeated earlier in the legislative session. The Senate passed a bill to give lawmakers a $6,000 pay bump for the first year of their four-year term and $4,500 for each of the three subsequent years. Part-time legislators in Mississippi are paid $23,500 per year, although they make between $40,000 to $50,000 per year in salary, perdiem, reimbursements, and other payments. The average annual compensation for some lawmakers is $70,000