Kansas lawmakers will let 93% pay increase take effect next year

Kansas state lawmakers are poised to allow a 93% pay raise to take effect next year after an independent commission recommended they be paid $58,000 per year instead of the $30,000 per year they now receive.

The pay increase means Kansas lawmakers will be paid more than state lawmakers in many other states, including Georgia and Texas, where the cost of living is generally higher.

After the independent commission made its recommendation, lawmakers would have had to vote a resolution into both houses by Feb. 14 to block the raises, but they have not made moves to do so.

The reasoning behind the increases is to allow more diverse and low-income residents to have a chance of taking these positions. At the current rate, mostly retired or wealthy individuals run for office because they can afford the low salary.

Lawmakers have said for years that the salary was not enough to live on without having other income and that the demands of the role make it difficult to work another job.

Critics of the raises say that the intent was always to have citizen-lawmakers who were working in the community as well as serving the state.