EDITORIAL: Raises for state legislators were too big and approved with too few givebacks

Jan. 5—Gov. Kathy Hochul could have held out for more.

We're not talking about more concessions from unions or special interests but from state legislators. By signing the bill approving a gigantic pay raise, she helped pad their salaries by a hefty $32,000 a year.

That increase set their base pay at $142,000, making them the nation's highest-paid legislators, nearly doubling their salaries since 2017. For leaders, the pay is higher still.

Starting in 2025, legislators will see their outside income capped at $35,000. Pay in excess of that from military service, retirement plans, or investments will still be allowed.

The clanging you hear are the bells going off in voters' heads. Most New Yorkers have never seen those kinds of raises and they were provided without sufficient giveback on outside income, ethics requirements or anything else. Keep in mind, these are lawmakers serving in a state that led the nation in population loss, according to the most recent census estimate.

Apparently, it was a done deal. Lawmakers pushed for the raises after November's election and quickly won Hochul's support. Some increase — a smaller one — might have been tolerable if legislators had agreed to more stringent restrictions.

A lower cap on outside income should have been required. Earning outside income is no crime, although the problems it can pose should have been glaring since former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver went to prison for committing felonies related to outside business activity. He died a prisoner in January.

Albany has made its decision, greedy though it was. Now, it will be up to voters to remember this episode and decide in 2024 whether legislators really did earn their keep.

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