LITTLE ROCK — Members of a panel reviewing salaries for Arkansas’ elected officials said Tuesday they want to know whether any pay adjustments can be applied retroactively if they’re not included in an initial report due next year.
Independent Citizens Commission Chairman Larry Ross said he wanted to know what power the commission has if it doesn’t include salary adjustments in a report due on Feb. 2. The commission was formed to review salaries for Arkansas legislators, constitutional officers and judges.
Ross, who asked the attorney general’s office for clarification on the issue, said it doesn’t mean the panel wants to apply any adjustments retroactively or that it won’t include any salary changes in its initial review.
“It’s not an issue. It’s just an option because we have no control over getting some information and being able to make that decision at that time,” Ross said.
Tuesday’s meeting was the second for the seven-member panel since voters approved it as part of a constitutional amendment that imposed new ethics rules on legislators and eased their term limits. The salaries had previously been set in the constitution, which allowed the Legislature to make annual cost-of-living adjustments.
Commission members said they wanted more details about the total compensation packages the state’s elected officials receive, and how they compare to those in other states. They said they also wanted to hear from some of the elected officials who would be affected by any of the potential salary changes.
The panel was also briefed about Arkansas’ economic climate by John Shelnutt, the state’s chief economic forecaster. During the briefing, Vice Chairman Chuck Banks asked whether there would be money in the state’s budget for any pay raises for officials.
Shelnutt said they’d have to talk with budget officials, but noted that Republican Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson will be taking office and a new Legislature will be convening next month.
“We’re about to go into session and potentially tax policy again, so there’s a dynamic there you need to step into and not assume it’s a static problem,” Shelnutt said.
(Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo)
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