The office holders for Alaska governor and lieutenant governor haven’t seen a pay raise since 2010, and even though inflation eats away at their compensation, they aren’t going to get one this year.
The Alaska State Officers Compensation Commission recommended a 2% increase for each year since 2011, to make up for inflation, but the Senate voted down the raise, 19-0, with Sen. Robert Myers taking an excused absence.
The compensation commission is directed by law to “review the salaries, benefits, and allowances of members of the legislature, the governor, the lieutenant governor, and each principal executive department head and prepare a report on its findings at least once every two years, but not more frequently than every year.”
Senate Bill 86 rejected the raises that had been recommended unanimously, which would have resulted in the governor earning about $176,000 instead of his current compensation of $145,000. The lieutenant governor would have gone from $125,000 to $140,000 and department commissioners would have gotten raises to bring them to about $168,000. Currently they average $141,000, less than some of the people who work for them.
For comparison, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee makes about $187,000 a year, as the fifth highest paid among the 50 States. Most governors make about $148,000 per year, according to the Council on State Governments.
