Pay for state lawmakers could reach $142,000 next year under a proposal introduced late Monday night -- making New York the highest paid state Legislature in the country.
The measure, introduced in time for the Democratic-led state Senate and Assembly to be voted on by Thursday, would also limit the ability of lawmakers to earn outside income with some exceptions.
Members of the state Legislature currently earn a base pay of $110,000 a year, second only to California lawmakers, who receive just over $114,000. If approved, the new salary would take effect on Jan. 1.
The planned pay raise to $142,000 lines up with decades of inflation and the last legislative pay raise which took effect in 1999, when lawmakers were paid $79,500. An appointed pay commission approved a raise to $110,000 in 2018.
Lawmakers have been eyeing a year-end special session for the last several days to consider a pay raise, with talks progressing into Monday.
The timing of a vote was not yet clear on Tuesday morning. But a newly released bill is a sign Democrats in the two chambers had reached an agreement for what would likely be a brief session by Thursday.
A source on Monday afternoon said Gov. Kathy Hochul's office had raised the possibility of also having lawmakers consider changes to the state's laws that limit cash bail requirements, but the proposal was rejected.
Hochul has previously signaled she would be supportive of a pay raise for the Legislature and she would have to approve any salary increase.
"I believe they deserve a pay raise. They've worked extraordinarily hard," she said earlier this month.
Lawmakers are also set to place limits on the money they earn outside of working for the Legislature, long a thorny subject for the elected officials who have prized their real-world experience in owning a business or working for a law firm.
But doing so has the support of good-government organizations in New York, who raised concerns with the ability of lawmakers to be compensated by those with potential business before the state.
There would be exceptions under the law introduced Monday for pensions and investment income. The outside income limits would take effect in 2025.
Republicans, meanwhile, have blasted the pay raise talk in Albany. Last week, Republicans in the state Senate announced robocalls and digital ads highlighting the potential for a pay raise.