Montana Law Makers Want a Raise

Montana lawmakers are thinking of giving themselves a 69 percent pay raise by changing the way their salaries are calculated when they meet in January.

Last Month the Legislative Council  voted to draft a bill to base legislative pay on the average salaries of lawmakers in Montana and four surrounding states starting in 2021.  Montana lawmakers are scheduled to make $92.46 a day for the 90-day 2019 legislative session.

That could jump to $156 a day if they vote to match the average of what lawmakers in Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana currently earn. That salary does not include $114 per day that lawmakers receive for expenses like lodging in Helena, a $3,000 stipend for constituent services and information technology expenses or a secondary reimbursement of up to $4,000 depending on the size of a legislator's district.

I want to give myself a raise too!