Blue-Ribbon Panel Calls for Pay Bumps for NYS Commissioners, But Says No to Lawmakers, Elected Officials
The New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation—chaired by retired New York Court of Appeals Judge Eugene Fahey—said it was too soon to give lawmakers a raise, after the most recent $32,000 per year bump.
November 14, 2024 at 05:10 PM
3 minute read
What You Need to Know
- Blue-ribbon panel says it's too soon to give the New York Legislature pay increases, after it received a $32,000 raise in 2023..
- But it granted raises to statewide agency heads, including a group of top-tier commissioners and superintendents whose pay will rise to $245,000.
- The commission had already recommended raises for state judges.
A blue-ribbon, quadrennial New York commission unanimously voted Thursday not to increase Albany lawmakers' salaries in 2025, citing a recent 29% increase to legislators’ nation-leading $142,000-a-year salaries in January 2023.
The New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation—chaired by retired New York Court of Appeals Judge Eugene Fahey—said it was too soon to give lawmakers a raise, after the most recent $32,000 per year bump.
Likewise, the commission recommended that Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose annual salary is $250,000, and the lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller shouldn’t receive pay increases in 2025. Those roles were last given pay increases in January 2021, when the governor got a $25,000 raise, and the lieutenant governor, AG and comptroller got $10,000 increases, to $220,000.
The commission's final report recommends raises for state Executive Department commissioners and deputy commissioners covered under Section 169 of the New York State Budget statutory outline.
The highest-tiered commissioners, such as state Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris, will receive $25,000 a year increases, from $220,000 to $245,000 in 2025, with a two-percent increase in 2027.
The pay bump is to right what commissioners said was the injustice that those agency heads were sometimes earning less than unionized subordinates, and agency heads in similar roles who work for the New York City government.
For example, the state financial services watchdog’s present $220,000 annual salary is $57,604 less than New York City’s commissioner of finance, meaning, even with the looming 2025 raise, it will still be more than $32,000 less than the city counterpart's job.
Kathyrn Garcia, director of New York's operations and infrastructure, had previously testified to the commission that state commissioners and agency officials’ salaries hadn’t kept pace with the private sector, and not granting them raises put the state at risk of losing talent and its ability to attract the best candidates for these positions.
Garcia had also noted that inaction would mean the state wouldn’t have another opportunity to increase their pay until 2029.
Regarding the Legislature’s substantial pay increase in 2023, the move was accompanied by setting a $35,000 cap on the amount of outside income they may earn. But the limitation is currently being challenged in a state court.
Meanwhile, the commission had already finished its work relative to judicial compensation, when it recommended state judges receive 10.3% salary increases, their first raises since 2019. The judicial raises took effect at the start of the fiscal year in April, boosting state Supreme Court justices’ pay from $210,900 to $232,600 annually, and the chief judge’s from $240,800 to $265,600.
“This is a thankless job,” Fahey, the retired top court judge and commission chairman said in putting a wrap on the panel's work. Fahey thanked the six other members for their time traveling the state and working for more than two years to bring forward the final report.
“I believe that fair compensation for our elected officials preserves the integrity of our elected system,” Fahey said. “That fair compensation is protected when it’s led by, endorsed by, and scrutinized by the citizens of the state, and you’ve all done that.”
Fahey and fellow commissioner, attorney Helene Blank, were appointed by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson. Other legal luminaries on the panel were retired Queens Administrative Judge Jeremy S. Weinstein, an appointee of the Senate majority leader, attorney Theresa Egan, appointed by the Assembly speaker, and Victor Kovner, senior counsel to Davis Wright Tremaine, an appointee of the governor.
The commission held its meetings at the New York City Bar Association, a site that reflected the nonpartisan nature of the commission's work.
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