BEATRICE – Is $12,000 a year enough, to be a Nebraska Legislator? It’s been that way since 1989….and some state lawmakers say it’s time to do something about it.


Senator Ben Hansen’s L-R 25…a proposed constitutional amendment, would allow voters to authorize an increase in pay for state senators. It would do so, under an amendment, by using an independent commission to decide what the pay level should be.


Senator Myron Dorn, who this session offered his own proposed constitutional amendment seeking to set legislative pay at $30,000 upon voter approval, said it’s frustrating when you hear people won’t run for the legislature because they can’t afford to.


"If we put it to a vote of the people and it passes in the general election next year, this will not take effect until at least 2029. So, it will be 40 years, since this body has had a salary increase, a wage increase. As we get our statements every month, it shows on there...I think it's $5.67....that's the amount we're paid per hour while we are in session. Some people have talked about the minimum wage. We are not even near that."
Fielding e-mails from people who say lawmakers aren’t worth what they’re paid now….Dorn says he responds….sometimes you get what you pay for….meaning high-quality successful people won’t run at that pay level.


Hansen’s proposal would base legislative pay on the minimum wage and proposes offering health insurance coverage at the rate of Medicaid. But a commission would ultimately consider the pay level.


Senator McKayla Cavanaugh says lawmakers may not deserve a pay hike, based on past actions.
"We can't help people get access to high quality healthcare. We can't help people get access to safe and affordable housing. We can't help people get access to transportation for jobs. We can't help people get access to food. We can't help kids get access to good schools....we have to defund them, divert resources. But, we can give a tax cut to the highest wage earners in the state."


Legislative Speaker John Arch says it’s not possible to maintain a full-time job and be a senator….nearly impossible to hold a part-time job while being a state senator.


"You will see people such as myself, who are at that retirement age. You will see people who are younger, who are building a career...who are putting pieces together in order to be able to be here. But the 40 and 50-year-old, it is a very difficult time to be here in the legislature. You have children at home, you are paying for college, you are doing the things that are required of life...and it's very difficult to be here."


State Senator Christy Armendariz when she became a state senator, she was able to keep her full-time job and serve as a lawmaker by working odd hours and weekends, But after two sessions of juggling both….she could not give 100-percent to both positions. Armendariz said she quit a very well-paying job to commit more time to constituents.


"Now, we have a financial strain. And in giving up my job, I also gave up health insurance for my husband and I. I gave up most of our contribution to our retirement. So, we are really just in a wait-and-see pattern, to see if this is really a possibility. I signed up for it understanding that this is a $12,000 a year job with no benefits. I was more than willing to do that, still am. I just want the people to understand that you do really limit the body, the pool of people that you can vote for and that make themselves available to be elected."


Some state senators say those who became a member of the body knew what the compensation was….and instead of working on behalf of their constituents….have instead given up more authority to the executive branch of state government.


Motions to kill the proposal or recommit the issue to the Executive Board were pending, on Friday.