ALBANY – A special panel created by the governor and Legislature voted Thursday to increase the base pay for state legislators by more than 60 percent, boosting their annual salaries for the first time in 20 years from $79,500 to $130,000 by 2021.
The New York State Compensation Committee approved salary increases to the lawmakers and also statewide elected officials and executive agency officials.
The panel called for curtailing the number of leadership stipends and restricting the amount of outside income legislators can earn, while also voicing generic support for good government reforms.
The committee’s final report, which is due on Monday, will carry the weight of law in setting new salaries for state legislators, the state attorney general, state comptroller and agency officials, unless the state Legislature acts to overrule their decision.
Lawmakers would receive their first salary increase in less than a month, with a $30,500 increase to $110,000 taking effect in January. Their base pay would then go to $120,000 in 2020, and reach $130,000 in 2021.
The initial increase would make New York legislators’ base pay the highest in the country.
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