PA. LEGISLATURE How big will pay raises be for lawmakers?

It's a sensitive issue, but the salary increases are likely.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- One rule of Harrisburg politics is that a measure is practically guaranteed to make it through the Legislature when Republican and Democratic leaders in both chambers favor it.
If that holds, then it's likely that lawmakers will vote a pay raise for themselves, the judiciary, and Gov. Ed Rendell's top advisers before the Legislature's two-year term expires at the end of this month.
The only question may be, how big should the raise be?
Lawmakers are trying to cram the answer to that and a few other problems into the four-week "lame-duck" session that heralds the end of the Legislature's two-year term on Nov. 30. The waning days are certain to include late nights, closed-door talks and flurries of bills bouncing between the House and Senate.
Doctors almost certainly will get an extension of state subsidies to help pay their medical malpractice insurance premiums. Rendell and lawmakers are working on a way to increase funding for the state's 41 public transit agencies, particularly as transit agencies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas are warning of layoffs, service cutbacks or fare increases. And Pittsburgh-area lawmakers want to revamp the city's tax structure to help it out of recurring deficits that city officials say could bankrupt it soon.
Sensitive issue
The issue of pay raises is a sensitive one for lawmakers, and many dislike discussing the matter publicly. When lawmakers last approved a raise for themselves, judges and cabinet secretaries in 1995, they also approved an annual cost-of-living increase that was characterized as a way to avoid the public criticism in the future that accompanied a vote to increase their pay.
Benefits packages are also part of the deal. Lawmakers, for instance, receive a $126 per diem each day spent in Harrisburg for a session day, a car allowance, health insurance and pension.
In a closed-door meeting Wednesday, legislative leaders agreed to draw up proposals for the pay raises and seek support from a wider pool of their colleagues. Rendell is open to the idea of raises for all three branches, spokeswoman Penny Lee said.
Addressed together
Lawmakers point at judges and Rendell for pushing the idea, and note that salaries for the three branches are typically addressed together. Judges, they say, have been clamoring for more money and Rendell has said he wants higher salaries for his cabinet members so he can attract top candidates.
Lawmakers argue that the demands of the job have outpaced their salaries. Observers say lawmakers increasingly rely on the job as a sole source of income, instead of maintaining an outside livelihood.
"The reality is that the job takes more time, the issues are more complex, constituents demand more service, more attention, and maybe that's because government has gotten more complex," said Stephen C. MacNett, the Senate GOP's top lawyer.
Peter Cappelli, director of the Center for Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said public officials typically receive generous benefits packages because the public dislikes raising their pay.
"It's the only way to make it equitable," Cappelli said. "The average voter pays attention to salaries, but they don't pay attention to benefits."
What they're paid
Most of Pennsylvania's 253 full-time legislators are paid $66,203, and ranked fourth among states last year, according to the National Conference for State Legislatures. A handful of legislative leaders earn more, peaking at $103,347 for the House speaker and Senate president pro tem. Salaries for the state's approximately 1,035-member judiciary start at $61,472 for district justices and top out at $146,813 for the Supreme Court's chief justice, Ralph J. Cappy.
Rated against their peers this year, salaries for Pennsylvania's Supreme Court justices, appellate-level judges, and Common Pleas Court judges ranged from ninth to 12th nationally, according to the National Center for State Courts. Salaries for Rendell's 18 department secretaries, which are set by the Legislature, range between $103,980 and $115,533, according to the Office of Administration.
The average annual wage in Pennsylvania last year was $36,696. The minimum wage is $5.15, or $10,712 annually, and hasn't risen since Sept. 1, 1997, the Department of Labor and Industry said.