Mo. House rejects pay raise for lawmakers, judges

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri House has voted to reject proposed raises for judges, statewide elected officials and legislators.

The 129-31 House vote Monday easily cleared the two-thirds majority required to kill the raises. The matter now goes to the Senate, which has until Saturday to reject the raises or they take effect automatically.

A special citizens' commission on salaries for judges and elected officials had recommended giving them the same raises -- if any -- provided to state employees in the budget year that begins July 1.

The panel also recommended $1,500 raises for associate circuit judges, regardless of any increases for other officials, to narrow the gap between their $109,366 salaries and the $120,484 earned by circuit judges.

House proponents of the raises, mostly Democrats, said judicial salaries should be increased to recruit and retain qualified candidates.

"This is really a shot at the judges of our state," Rep. Ed Wildberger, D-St. Joseph, said of the move to reject the raises. "I have to wonder who is going to apply for those jobs if we don't keep this pay scale up to where it should be."

Opponents argued the raises would be irresponsible given the poor economy.

"I don't think the people back home and the people in my district want me to have a pay raise while they're struggling," said Rep. Mike McGhee, R-Odessa, who sponsored the measure to block the raises.

Democrats tried twice to approve only the judicial pay increases. Republicans struck down both attempts on procedural grounds, ruling lawmakers must consider the package as a whole.

Three Republicans joined 28 Democrats in voting to support the commission's proposals; 85 Republicans and 44 Democrats voted against them.

The salary commission's recommendations also would give judges who attend the Missouri Judicial Conference meetings the same per diem that lawmakers get for attending legislative sessions. Currently judges are not reimbursed for expenses, while the per diem for lawmakers is $87.20.

The guaranteed raise for associate circuit judges is expected to cost about $300,000 for the first year and $600,000 for the second. The per diems for the three-day judicial conference would cost about $65,000 if slightly more than half Missouri's judges attend, as had been the norm.

The measure now moves to the Senate, which failed to debate a similar proposal two years ago after the House passed it, allowing the raises to take effect.

House Majority Leader Steven Tilley, R-Perryville, said during Monday's debate that he expects senators to consider the measure by this weekend's deadline.

The pay raise resolution is HCR5.