Two Pay Raises For Lawmakers Over The Next Year Are Raising Eyebrows…The salary commission approved the wage hikes two years ago but critics now question the optics of government officials getting pay raises during an economic crisis.
Lawmakers are positioned to receive two pay raises during the year ahead, a move critics described as “unconscionable” at a time of high unemployment and economic desperation in much of the community.
The raises were recommended by the state Commission on Salaries in 2019, and will take effect on July 1 of this year and Jan. 1, 2022 unless the Legislature takes action to defer the raises. Gov. David Ige, members of his cabinet and state judges are also scheduled to receive pay increases in the year ahead.
Pay hikes for elected officials are almost always controversial, but the state House added fuel to the fire this year by refusing to consider any increase in the state minimum wage to help some other Hawaii residents get raises as well.
