Copyright Hartford Courant
The Connecticut General Assembly, also known as the state legislature, is going into special session this week. That means there is work to do, despite the regular legislative session that already took place earlier this year. (A lot of laws got passed then too, but a lot also was left on the House or Senate floor, so to speak). For now, lawmakers plan to look this week at a new housing bill (that is always a subject of debate in this state), the potentially ongoing federal government shutdown, UConn Health system buying another hospital, energy assistance, and possibly new protections for immigrants and sharing information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among other things. There’s also talk of preparing for loss of federal funding due to the possibly ongoing government shutdown (longest in U.S. history) or other cuts that could come true from the Trump administration, by sending another $500 million into the state’s rainy day fund. But amid all this extra work, did you ever wonder how much lawmakers in Connecticut earn for being, well, lawmakers? (they are supposed to be part-time legislators) It turns out, according to the Office of Legislative Research, that compensation for representative and senators is set by, yes, the General Assembly under state law. (CGS § 2-8). The report that the Office of Legislative Research, often called OLR, did, however, does point out that no legislator’s compensation can increase during his or her term, which it turns out is part of the state constitution. (The report attributed the detail to: Conn. Const. Art. XI, § 2, as amended by Conn. Const. Art. XIX, which a quick check shows is the constitution). U.S. Senate reached a deal to end the shutdown. Why CT legislators say it’s not enough The report also notes that each legislator “is eligible for a base salary, but certain leadership positions receive a higher amount” also noted to be permitted by law. (That one is CGS § 2-8). That means you earn more for being a committee chair, or minority or majority leader, for example. The base salary in 1967 was $3,250. It’s $43,600 now, the report says (Annual sessions did not begin until 1971). Here’s a list of all the House members. Here’s a list of all the Senate members. Not sure who represents you? Find that here. ORL also created a graphic that shows all the changes to those salaries, “as well as when certain positions were explicitly added to the statute, since 1967.” (Scroll down to see it) The report notes that from 1967 to 1972, “salaries were set for a legislator’s term. Since 1973, legislators have received annual salaries, but from 1973 to 1982 these salaries varied depending on whether a year had a long legislative session or a short legislative session.” Further, according to the report, the General Assembly in 2022 indexed the legislative salaries to inflation, “beginning in 2025 and then every two years thereafter.” “By January 1 of each applicable year, the law requires the Office of Legislative Management executive director, after consulting with the state labor commissioner, to identify the necessary inflationary adjustment. The adjustment must be based on the percentage change in the employment cost index for wages and salaries for all civilian workers, as calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, over the 24-month period ending on June 30 of the preceding year, rounded to the nearest whole cent. Compensation is adjusted at the beginning of every term (CGS § 2-9c),” the report explains. On a final note, Connecticut law authorizes “reimbursement of expenses of $4,500 for every House member and $5,500 for each senator.” (that’s CGS § 2-8(b)) and they get “a per-mile transportation allowance for certain legislative-related transit.” (that’s also a law: CGS § 2-15). The ORL report was written by Matthew H. Frame, an associate legislative attorney.
