When Minnesota voters go to the polls Nov. 8 they will have the chance to decide whether the pay of state legislators should be set by lawmakers themselves or an independent council.
Borderland’s state representatives each say they’ll be voting in favor of allowing a council to decide.
The ballot question will ask: Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to remove legislators’ ability to set their own salaries, and instead establish an independent, citizens-only council to prescribe salaries for legislators?
A state constitutional amendment can only pass if the majority of voters who cast ballots in the election vote “yes”; leaving the question blank is considered a “no” vote.
Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk said raising one’s own pay is somewhat of a conflict of interest. He said the Legislature sets pay ranges for the governor’s commissioners and judges.
And, he said, a lot of other states have outside panels that set legislators’ pay...
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http://www.ifallsjournal.com/news/local/voters-to-decide-who-will-set-lawmakers-pay/article_2844c526-2246-5fbf-9168-6d5ceab2ac94.html
