By Mike Cason
Alabama lawmakers are getting a raise next year, a boost based on a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2012.
The amendment sets legislators’ salaries at the median household income for Alabama as determined by the State Personnel Board and adjusted annually.
The Personnel Board uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to determine the median household income.
On Wednesday, the board approved a salary of $53,956 for 2022, a 4.3% increase from this year’s salary of $51,734.
The speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor, who is president of the Senate under the state Constitution, receive that amount plus an extra $1,500 per month.
Legislators can also receive reimbursement for travel and other actual expenses, as approved by the presiding officers in each chamber.
The 2012 amendment came in response to a highly-criticized move by lawmakers in 2007 to increase their pay by 61% by passing a resolution without a recorded vote. As of 2012, legislators were making about $53,000 a year under that plan, with most of the compensation from a monthly expense allowance that they no longer receive.
The amendment that passed in 2012 reduced average legislative compensation by about $7,000 at that time, according to the fiscal note. It prohibited legislators from raising their pay or expense reimbursements. The changes took effect after the 2014 general election.