Paying the most doesn’t always get you the best
By Bob Small
The automatic pay raise that our Lawmakers recently received brings their base salary “to more than double the national average for lawmakers across the country.”
As of Dec. 1, their annual base salary is $113,750 To compare, The National Council of State Legislatures says “average annual base salary for a state legislator in the U.S. Is $47,904”. Only California and New York have higher salaries. “Rep. Russ Diamond has been an advocate for eliminating COLAs for state lawmakers “ He is a Republican who currently represents the 102nd District.
For a two decade history of the pay raise debacle see There was a put the “No in November Campaign”, one of the results being the non-retention of “ Russell Nigro, with 51 percent voting to dump him. It was the first time that a judge has been tossed off the bench in the 36 years since the state established its retention system, which seeks voter approval of elected judges every 10 years. Vince Fumo and other convicted State Legislators eventually had to return their pensions received while in prison. Both are former Reps. Bill
Tim Potts, Democracy Rising President, said “How things get done determines what things get done. And if that process is corrupt, you’re probably not going to get a very good result.” Rock the Capitol’s Eric Epstein said, “Reform in Pennsylvania is like spraying perfume in a sewer.” As of 2025, only New York and California Legislators are paid more.
Representative Jeremy Schaeffer (R-28) proposed a bill to suspend these automatic legislative pay raises.
Pennsylvania, by the way, has the largest full-time legislative body in the country, with 253 lawmakers in the state House and Senate. “
By the way, Pennsylvania could end the year with the lowest number of new laws in at least a decade
They only passed 65 bills this year. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is for you, the public, to judge.
Are any of your local Legislators worth $113K?
