Independent Citizens Commission

An Arkansas panel has approved a 2 percent pay raise for all of the state's top elected officials except the lieutenant governor, who has said he didn't want the bump in salary. read more >

An Arkansas panel is recommending a 2 percent raise for the state's elected officials and judges, despite a request from the state Supreme Court that it receive an 11 percent bump in pay. read more >

An independent committee is calling for giving Arkansas' full-time prosecutors a 23 percent pay raise. read more >

An independent panel has approved more than doubling Arkansas legislators' salaries and granting substantial pay hikes to the state's other elected officials. read more >

Two members of the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday urged a panel reviewing salaries for elected officials to give justices a bigger pay raise than initially recommended, saying the change is needed to ensure top candidates run for the state's highest court. read more >

Arkansas lawmakers are on the verge of resolving two of the biggest issues looming over this year's session, while an independent commission is taking the first step toward granting legislators and other elected officials substantial pay raises. read more >

This publication opposed the amendment that formed the Independent Citizens Commission because it forced voters to give legislators longer terms and relieve them of the political discomfort of setting their own salaries in exchange for behaving ethically. But Arkansas voters overwhelmingly adopted the proposal to make three fundamental changes in our state Constitution, so now we need to play the hand we were dealt. read more >

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. read more >

A newly formed commission meeting this week to review and adjust Arkansas elected officials' salaries changes the dynamic of a long-running debate among policymakers. Arkansas' pay for governor, legislators and other elected positions pale when compared to most states, but there's little political upside to increasing those salaries. read more >

The seven appointments for the Independent Citizens Commission, which will decide the salaries for all elected state officials, were announced Wednesday morning. read more >