Republican Legislature Responds To Governor's Pay Raises
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Majority Republicans in the Minnesota House said they will introduce legislation to take away the Governor's authority to raise the pay of his cabinet.
That's after a WCCO-TV story Thursday reporting that Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton gave his entire cabinet pay hikes up to 35 percent.
Friday, the new Republican House Speaker says not only is it wrong, but that he'll try to change it. The cabinet pay hikes range from $19,000 to $35,000 each.
Despite getting criticism for their size, Dayton's not backing down.
"There's no controversy as far as I'm concerned," the Governor told reporters. "They haven't had raises in 12 years."
Dayton said he's lost Commissioners to better paying jobs, citing their inability to support a family and college costs.
"That's when they say: 'OK, I still want to do this job. I am still committed to it. But I can make so much money somewhere else that I just can't say no,'" Dayton said.
Until now, Minnesota Cabinet salaries were lower than neighboring Wisconsin. But the Dayton pay hikes will leapfrog Minnesota to the lead.
We randomly chose Agriculture, Commerce and Natural Resources. Here are the comparisons:
Agriculture
MN – $144,991
WI – $121,202
Commerce/Insurance
MN – $144,991
WI – $118,676
Natural Resources
MN – $154,992
WI – $126,251
Republicans who control the Minnesota House say they'll introduce a bill to take away a governor's ability to give raises without review.
"That's excessive," Republican House Speaker Kurt Daudt said. "And I think in this time when Minnesota families aren't seeing the same sort of increase in their own family budget, it really angers Minnesotans."
Gov. Dayton says the cabinet salaries won't need adjusting for another decade, and he'll resist attempts to change them.
"If people don't want the best people in Minnesota to be in leadership positions in state government, we just have a fundamental disagreement," he said.
No word yet from Gov. Dayton on whether he would veto any such legislation from the House.