Some locals believe amended bill won't get Senate approval

Six of nine St. Tammany Parish area legislators voted in favor of their own pay raise last week in what would be the first pay hike for Louisiana lawmakers since 1980. But it won't be clear until early this week if the money will actually hit lawmakers' pocketbooks.

"It's due time (Louisiana) legislators get their pay," freshman state Rep. Scott Simon, R-Abita Springs, said. "I pay for the same price of gas as everyone else."

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The original bill, approved 20-16 by the Senate, called for a $52,000 annual salary plus per diems, a 300 percent increase from legislators' current pay of less than $17,000 base salary for the part-time job. But House members snubbed that increase and offered an amendment - approved 56-45 - that gives a 130 percent raise to $37,500, with additional raises adjusted for inflation.

The amended pay raise bill now heads back to the Senate, which will likely consider it Tuesday or Wednesday, said Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville.

If the Senate does not agree with the proposed changes, it cannot amend the bill further and the bill would die. If the Senate approves the changes to SB 672, authored by New Orleans-based Sen. Ann Duplessis, the bill heads to Gov. Bobby Jindal's desk for approval. Jindal has previously said he would not veto the bill but is strongly against the measure.

But some area legislators aren't sure the bill will make it that far.

"I don't have a good feeling on that," said state Rep. Greg Cromer, R-Slidell, who voted in favor of the scaled down raise. "There is a sentiment that it's all or nothing."

Donahue, president and CEO of Donahue/Favret Contractors Inc., solidified Cromer's feelings Friday afternoon. He said he would follow his original vote and vote no again.

"I would be embarrassed" if the measure passed, he said.

"It just doesn't jive with what I do in business," he said. "10 percent to 15 percent increase? That would be reasonable, but to me it's just so out of line. I don't think it's the right thing to do. And the public is making it clear it's not what they want."

Indeed. News of the proposed hike has dominated talk radio, Internet blogs and newspaper headlines for days. The majority of the public, it seems, is against the increase.

But with more than half of the area's legislators offering support and the majority in both the House and Senate favoring raises, it's unclear how the final vote will unfold.

Cromer cited a 2003 study by the Legislative Compensation Commission in supporting his vote. That commission found legislators should earn $41,500 a year, he said. But still, Cromer's constituents said that was too much of an increase, and a happy medium was somewhere in the $30,000 range, he said.

"I felt I voted the way my district wanted me to vote," he said. "They felt the ($50,000) was too large, and I agreed, but the pay raise (from the House) was justifiable by not being as large."

Simon, of Abita Springs, agreed.

He said since 1980, the last time Louisiana lawmakers voted themselves a raise, salaries for other government jobs such as judges, teachers and others increased between 220 percent to more than 300 percent. The raises are needed, he said, to attract quality legislators.

"If you want quality people, fair compensation is needed," he said.

Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, echoed that sentiment. Nevers, alongside A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell, cast a favorable vote.

"Wealthy people can serve, but when you talk about blue collar and poor people, they can't afford $17,000 a year," he said.

"I want representation from people across the state."

A favorable increase would mean "people can quit their jobs and serve the people," he said.

But Louisiana legislators are considered part-time workers by the state, working two sessions a year, a job description Cromer said doesn't fit.

"Yea, it's considered a part-time job, but we go well beyond that if we are doing our jobs right," he said.