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February 1, 2007

Let’s enact Oklahoma legislator pay cut proposal

Eric Bradshaw

By Eric Bradshaw

CNHI News Service

Who doesn’t ever feel a tad bit sore about how much legislators get paid?

While school teachers, police officers and firefighters are often withheld a certain amount of money, because of the budget, there’s always room for the legislators to make a bit more.

Well, an Oklahoma legislator from Guthrie is trying to get a bill passed to have voters decide whether to cut legislative annual salaries from $38,400 per year to $29,908, the annual income of the average Oklahoman.

State Rep. Jason Murphey recently held a press conference to talk about House Joint Resolution 1007. An amendment to the state Constitution, the bill is currently waiting to be sent to a committee and then, if allowed to be heard, will get a vote in the House.

Murphey claims, among other things, that state representatives in Oklahoma make more than the national average and more than many of their neighbors.

It’s a great bill, but what do you think will likely happen?

Republican and Democrat legislators alike will oppose it. As someone from Murphey’s office said to me on the phone, it’s not a popular bill. On the other hand, I am most certain that if it does pass, Oklahomans will vote the cut in heartily.

While I vote for many a Democrat, I love the more conservative approach to state spending — cutting back unnecessary programs and in this case, cutting legislators’ pay.

It does not surprise me in the least that Murphey is a Republican.

Eric Bradshaw writes for The Sun in Midwest City.

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