Senate rejects State Officers Compensation Commission pay recommendations
Summary
The Alaska Senate voted unanimously to disapprove recommendations from the State Officers Compensation Commission, including proposed automatic salary adjustments indexed to the Anchorage consumer price index.
The Alaska Senate voted 19-0 to disapprove recommendations from the State Officers Compensation Commission during a floor session, rejecting a proposal that would have indexed automatic salary adjustments for the governor, lieutenant governor, department heads and legislators to the Anchorage consumer price index.
The resolution to disapprove the commission’s recommendations was advanced to final passage after unanimous consent to engross and advance the bill. Senator Giesel moved to advance the bill to third reading and final passage; the roll call on final passage showed 19 yeas and 0 nays. The Senate also adopted the bill’s effective date clause by unanimous consent.
Senator Malakowski, who led debate on the floor, said the commission issued its recommendations in January 2025 and described the statutory role of the commission: “By statute, the commission is directed to review the salaries, benefits, and allowances of members of the legislature, governor, and lieutenant governor, and each executive agency head, and prepare a report on its findings at least once every 2 years.” He urged colleagues to reject the recommendations, saying swift action was in the public interest.
Senator Stadman supported rejecting the indexing proposal while urging caution about automatic escalators: “You quickly run your budget in out of control mode when you start indexing things,” he said, and urged the commission and legislature to avoid establishing automatic escalators tied to CPI.
Senator Hughes said she would vote to reject the recommendations and noted a procedural point of distinction in the commission’s proposal: it would have applied to a future legislature rather than to current members. “It is not right for us to ever be considering accepting a raise in a salary when it’s for ourselves,” she said.
The Senate’s action formally disapproves the commission’s recommendations; the motion and final tally were recorded on the floor as 19 yeas, 0 nays. No floor amendments to the bill were recorded. The bill record shows that legal counsel advised some procedural changes suggested by the commission might be implemented by practice rather than by statute, but the Senate’s vote disapproved the specific pay recommendation and the CPI-linked adjustment proposal.
