Mo. salary commission missing members

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A frequently ignored state panel that sets salaries for judges and elected officials is missing almost half its members.

Gov. Matt Blunt is supposed to pick 12 members, the secretary of state randomly selects one representative from each of the state's nine congressional districts and the Supreme Court picks a retired judge. Under the state constitution, those selections were due Feb. 1.

Only the secretary of state appears to have made its appointment deadline.

Blunt hasn't made any new appointments to the panel, and the Supreme Court was two months late in selecting former Supreme Court Judge John Holstein.

A spokeswoman for Blunt said the governor is considering new appointments this year, but there is no timeline to do that. Spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said previous governors also have been tardy on naming people to the salary commission.

"The appointments are only necessary if you want an even larger pay increase for elected officials," Robinson said. "Gov. Blunt does not support pay increases for elected officials."

Any new gubernatorial appointees would need Senate confirmation, but lawmakers adjourned last month. New appointees could continue serving but would need to be approved when senators return.

It's not the first time politicians have overlooked the salary commission, which was created in 1994. Lawmakers sometimes have refused to budget for the raises the panel recommended, and state officials didn't even appoint members in 2004.

The constitution requires the 22-member Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials hold four meetings throughout the state starting in August. The panel must decide on its salary recommendations by Dec. 1.

Missouri voters in 2006 approved a constitutional amendment designed to give the commission more influence and help judges get a pay raise. As a result, lawmakers must approve a resolution by a two-thirds majority -- instead of a simple majority -- if they want to reject the salary commission's recommendations.

The 2006 measure also removed a provision that essentially had allowed the legislature to block the pay raise by not putting any money in the budget for it.

In 2006, the salary commission suggested a $1,200 raise, plus a 4 percent raise and recommended any additional raises for state workers for the next two years also be applied to judges, statewide officials and legislators, though legislators' higher pay wouldn't kick in until 2009. The House voted to reject it, but because the Senate never acted, the recommendations went into effect.

The commission members appointed so far are: Holstein, of Springfield; Marion McGuinn, of Florissant; Timothy Hufker, of St. Louis; Erin Cotter, of St. Louis; Elizabeth Banwart, of Liberal; Thomas Theiss, of Independence; Danny Judy, of Platte City; Cedric Shirley, of Aurora; Mary Lou White, of Bismarck; and Gene Danekas of Columbia.