Cuomo doesn't exclude pay raise talks

Given an opportunity, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo didn't rule out pay raises for legislators and commissioners during a radio interview Wednesday.

Rumors persist that state lawmakers will return to the Capitol after the November election to take up some less popular issues, such as salary hikes for themselves. Lawmakers and state-agency commissioners last got a pay raise in 1999.

When asked about pay raises, Cuomo said, "There has been no conversation to any detail about that."

But he demurred from saying there hadn't been discussions in general.

"I've been talking about it forever," Cuomo said. "Everybody's been talking about it from their point of view, but then you'd have to talk about it from a mutual point of view, which is a conversation that hasn't happened."

The top salary for a commissioner is $136,000. A state legislator's salary is $79,500, but most receive stipends for serving in leadership posts or committee chairs, pushing the average salary above $90,000. Being a legislator is considered a part-time occupation.