SACRAMENTO WATCH : Poorly Timed

The timing could not be worse. As California grapples with yet another budget shortfall, an independent citizens commission has granted California’s elected legislators a hefty 37% pay increase, to $72,000 a year. Few would argue against the premise that raising the compensation for legislators might help lure qualified candidates, who might not otherwise be able to afford to leave their jobs to serve in Sacramento.

And the increase, which will cost about $2.5 million a year, must come out of the Legislature’s budget.

The California Citizens Compensation Commission was created by voters when they passed Proposition 112 in 1990 as part of a reform package. The goal was to enable legislators to make a living without having to rely on outside honorariums. The passage of legislative term limits, also in 1990, made this even more important.

The commission last granted a legislative pay increase to the current $52,500 (from $40,816) in 1990. It put off further increases because of state budget problems. This year it granted the raise after reviewing salaries of other state officials, including judges. The total compensation package, which includes a car allowance, health benefits and a tax-free $101 per diem to cover living expenses when the Legislature is in session, will be about $100,000 a year.

But while the pay hike is a done deal, legislators would be well-advised to decline the raise, which they can do. All such gestures are sure to be favorably remembered by voters when they go the polls in June and November.