Thanks to a significant increase in the cost of living adjustment this year, our 253 state legislators - 203 in the House of Representatives and 50 in the Senate - along with officials in the executive and judicial branches - are winding up with their largest automatic pay increases in history. This will send legislators’ base salaries higher than $100,000 for the first time - $102,844 to be exact.

The increases are tied by legislation to the annual rate of inflation for urban consumers of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, which has been extremely high this year - 7.8% - piggybacking on higher than normal inflation last year, at almost 6%. The automatic jump applies to more than 1,300 positions.

In 1995, during secret budget negotiations, legislators decided that it was too messy, even embarrassing, going back to the well each time they wanted to increase their salaries, so during a midnight session they devised the plan to tie a cost of living increase (COLA) to the annual rate of inflation. To spread the guilt, the legislation included not only legislators but also executive and judicial branch officials. Legislative pay hikes took effect on Dec. 1, while the others start in January.

While inflation was low (1%-3%, even nonexistent in some years), there was some grousing but no major complaints, but with inflation at a 40-year high, these increases got a lot of attention, most notably from Pennsylvanians who got much smaller, if any, pay hikes. To show you the disparity, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average weekly earnings for all private-sector workers in the state increased 3.8% during the one-year period ending August of this year.

Since 1996, there have been just three years when legislators received no increase - 2010, 2016 and the COVID-19-related year, 2020 - that’s how tame inflation was back in the good old days.

I thought - obviously naively so - that legislators would have come to the conclusion that such an outrageous raise this year was really out of line and would do something about it. They had done that on one or two other occasions over the year. Apparently, they did talk about it before the session ended Nov. 30, but that’s all that came of it so far - just talk.

I also strongly recommend that these automatic cost of living increases be suspended until inflation returns to a more reasonable level. Better yet, eliminate them.

I am astounded that voters did not confront candidates for the Nov. 8 election about this travesty, but there was barely a peep out of them. Given their constituents’ near silence, I am sure incumbents and challengers thought the public either accepted the raises or weren’t upset about them.

I’m no fan of the policies of Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, the GOP’s gubernatorial candidate earlier this year, but whether it was window dressing or not he introduced a bill to forego the increase for this year, but he was able to get just four co-sponsors, and the bill was stuck in committee, then died an ignominious death when the 2021-22 session came to an end on Nov. 30.

Most of the legislators polled by several statewide news agencies on how they felt about not taking the raises this year did not respond. According to Spotlight PA, a nonpartisan statewide media group, just six state lawmakers - none from our five-county area - have given back at least a portion of their annual pay raises in the last four years. Going back to 2009, Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill-Carbon, returned a total of $6,100, according to Spotlight PA.

Gov. Tom Wolf, who turns over the governor’s seat to Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro, on Jan. 17 after completing his second and final term, has never taken compensation since assuming office in 2015. The governor’s salary has risen to $201,729. The highest paid elected officeholder in Pennsylvania was the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer, whose salary was $234,000. The acting chief justice, Debra Todd, and whoever is named permanently in 2023, will receive more than $251,000. The six associate judges, including Lansford native Christine Donohue, will now be earning about $224,700 starting Jan. 1.

Last year, rank-and-file legislators received about a $5,000 increase to $95,432.

Those who hold leadership positions make more. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, and House Speaker Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, receive raises of about $11,600, meaning their salaries have ballooned to about $160,600.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com