Compensation Board Nixes Legislative Pay Raise
Oklahoma legislators will not receive a pay raise this year.
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
OKLAHOMA CITY - State lawmakers will not receive a pay raise, the Legislative Compensation Board decided Tuesday.
The board, which meets every two years, voted 7-1 to keep the base salary for lawmakers at $38,400 and to keep benefits the same.
Lawmakers have not had a salary increase since 1998, said Shelly Paulk, deputy budget director for revenue with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Their annual pay rose from $32,000 that year.
Charles Ford, a former Republican state senator from Tulsa, cast the lone no vote. He had argued for an incremental increase and suggested an annual salary of $44,000.