This commentary is by Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, and Becca White, D-Windsor; they are lead sponsor and co-sponsor, respectively, of S.39.
Last year, over 30% of legislators, across all three major parties, decided not to run for reelection. While the pandemic created a wave of retirements or job changes across various employment sectors, many legislators saw the job as unsustainable to support themselves or a family.
We often hear that Vermont prides itself on its citizen Legislature, where “everyday” Vermonters go to Montpelier to solve problems and pass laws for a few months before returning to jobs and families back home.
This system was created at a time when many Vermonters were farmers and all legislators were men.
The current Legislature is about 45% women and only a handful of legislators are farmers. We’re also one of the oldest legislatures in the country, with lots of folks who see legislating as a second career after retirement. Many people under retirement age can’t afford the low legislative pay and lack of benefits, and can’t balance the difficult schedule with family duties.
Almost anyone would do better to get a full-time, full-year job than take time to be a legislator. And yet, Vermont benefits from a diverse, dedicated Legislature, filled with people from a variety of backgrounds and professions. We make better public policy when we have many different perspectives at the table and our democracy is stronger when any member of the public can afford to run for office to be a legislator.
This session, the Senate has advanced S.39, a bill that will gradually, over five years, increase the salary of state legislators to the equivalent of the average salary earned in Vermont.
Currently, state legislators earn about $14,000 for the four and a half months we’re in session; S.39 would increase this amount to about $20,500 in 2027.
The bill would also provide one day of pay per week for legislators during the seven and a half months we’re not in session, to compensate for the work legislators do helping constituents, replying to emails, attending meetings, and doing legislative research and preparation.
Taken together, the increased in-session pay plus the added off-session pay would bring legislative compensation up to about $29,000 annually by 2028, or the pro-rated equivalent of the average Vermont salary, which in 2023 is about $56,000 per year. This level of compensation would also put Vermont legislative pay at about the national average for state legislative pay. By both measures, Vermont legislators would simply be paid an average amount.
No pay increases would take effect until 2025, after the next election year, meaning current legislators who are tasked with voting on S.39 will not benefit from the pay increase unless the voters reelect us.
Importantly, S.39 would also provide legislators access to health insurance, on the same terms as any state employee. While over 95% of Vermonters have health insurance coverage, some state legislators do not. This is a barrier for many people’s ability to run for state office, especially if they would lose their health insurance coverage by taking time away from their full-time job to serve in the Legislature.
We know Vermonters benefit from legislators’ dedicated service and want us to take the time we need to do our work thoughtfully and effectively, during our session and the rest of the year too. The bill creates a study committee to consider other changes that may make the Legislature more sustainable for legislators to represent their constituents more effectively and productively.
Serving in the Vermont Legislature is not supposed to be a career, but it’s also not supposed to be a job only the wealthy and retired can afford to do. We want any Vermonter who is called to serve, of all ages, backgrounds, and family configurations, to be able to run for office and serve in the Legislature if elected. Our state will be better for everyone having a chance for a seat at the table.
