When the Legislature’s Executive Board drafted its plan to raise legislator pay and peg it to one fifth of median household income, we estimated that would raise their pay from $6,000 to $10,191 a year. 58 legislators who voted for that pay raise (see the final House and Senate roll calls on 2018 HB 1311) got a pleasant surprise last week: James Nord reports that, instead of $4,200, their bump will be just about $5,400:
State lawmakers will be paid $11,378.80 in 2019, a roughly 90 percent jump from the $6,000 per session they’ve received since 1998. Legislators also get a per diem allowance that’s increased during that time [James Nord, “South Dakota Lawmakers Getting First Pay Raise in 21 Years,” AP via Rapid City Journal, 2019.01.03].
That’s a great boost for Senate Pro-Tem Brock Greenfield, who says he’s been part-timing other jobs since he got out of college and took up legislating:
Senate President Pro Tempore Brock Greenfield, a Republican, said it was the first time he’s voted for a pay increase since joining the Legislature in 2001. Greenfield, 43, said he’s found jobs over the years that accommodate his legislative schedule since graduating from college in 1999.
Now, helping out with his family’s bar-restaurant and small grocery store and substitute teaching and bus driving, Greenfield said the raise is welcome.
“I’m still not going to be cutting a fat hog by any means over the course of a year, but it will certainly bolster my end of the year … tax returns,” Greenfield said. “If you told anybody that you’re going to get $5,000 more next year than you did last year, I mean, that’s wonderful” [Nord, 2019.01.03].
Wonderful, wonderful, yes, Brock… now for that 90% raise, let’s see 90% more bills… or 90% better bills.
I am certain that they kept their per diem, so the next bill that should go in the hopper is eliminating all of the free breakfasts, lunches, and other lobbyist sponsored social events.
Bob Mercer tweeted that some lawmakers feel “pressured” by these events. A 90% raise means they can afford to buy their own breakfast, brown bag lunch, and booze.
The raise is long overdue.
That’s $10,191 more than they are worth.
According to OPEN SD – State Employee Salary Lookup as of 1/7/2019
~ Brock Greenfield (pos.# 280366) LRC receives $284.47 per hour.
https://open.sd.gov/employees.aspx
*That’s a pretty good hourly, huh?
Same site says Shawn Bordeaux makes the same per hour. Other legislators show $18 an hour.
That would be a nice minimum wage number, $18, = to legislators.
I like the idea of cutting out lobbyists’ bribes.
So Brock Greenfield hasn’t held one single full time job since graduating college?!? So he has probably NEVER held a full time job!?! And he legislates for about a million people who have? Maybe he ought to take about a decade off from government money and try out the private sector as his sole income.
Pearson’s a little research challenged but Messrs Greenfield and Bordeaux have LRC next to their positions and other legislators don’t.
@Debbo … I think he works for his Mom, Lana. heh HEH ho Keeps the basement very tidy, too.
Deny pay raises to Republican legislators! Shut down these crooks! That’s what THEY do as bullies to the poor. And to public radio.
Now SDPRTV, in a Republican forced need to compete with private media like FOX, uses alphabet soup, speeds up language, and floods us with commercials AND fund raising begging.
SDPR chokes in the throat. The SDPR CEO has no clothes!!! SDPRTV features Gov Krist at 1pm (central or mountain n time, they were too out of breath to say) heard 1st this morning, is too much, ahh, um, you know, in the moment!!! Stop it.