Late in the last General Assembly, SJR 9 was passed by the Senate. This joint resolution proposed to amend the Ohio Consitution to create a Public Office Compensation Commission. The Commission would review and set pay for lawmakers, constitutional officers, judges and others. Currently, the General Assembly has authority over pay raises for public officers. A commission would take lawmakers out of the business of setting their own pay. The joint resolution also would eliminate the prohibition against executive officers’ compensation being increased or decreased during the period for which the officer was elected. However, if the General Assembly rejects a final compensation plan or portion thereof, a member of the General Assembly is not entitled to an increase in compensation for the duration of the member’s term of office. See our prior post, Constitutionally Created Commission for Ohio Public Officials’ Pay Increases? The 131st General Assembly ended without the House having a chance to vote on the joint resolution.
On February 4, 2015, SJR 1 was introduced in the new General Assembly session. SJR 1 is the same or very similar to SJR 9 from the previous General Assembly. Both houses must pass the Resolution by a 3/5 vote and then the voters must approve this change to the Ohio Constitution.
