Site Index: Legislative Council: State of North Dakota

LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION COMMISSION

The Legislative Compensation Commission was originally established by the 1969 Legislative Assembly. Consisting of five members appointed by the Governor, the commission was responsible for determining appropriate levels of expense allowance and compensation to be paid to members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly. In 1979 after 10 years of existence, the law that created the original Legislative Compensation Commission was repealed.

The Legislative Compensation Commission was recreated by passage of 1983 Senate Bill No. 2360. The bill, now codified as North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) Sections 54-03-19.1 and 54-03-19.2, once again established a Legislative Compensation Commission to determine appropriate levels of expense allowance and compensation to be paid to members of the Legislative Assembly.

In 1993 NDCC Section 54-03-19.1 was amended to direct the Legislative Compensation Commission to develop recommendations for a long-term policy on legislative compensation, expense allowance, and insurance benefits. In addition, the 1993 Legislative Assembly amended Section 54-03-19.2 to allow the commission to file with the Legislative Council a bill incorporating its recommendations.

The membership of the Legislative Compensation Commission has traditionally been bipartisan. The 1995-96 Legislative Compensation Commission recommended a bill to make bipartisan membership a requirement of the commission. The 1997 Legislative Assembly adopted the commission's recommendation and amended NDCC 54-03-19.1 to provide that no more than three of the five appointees to the Legislative Compensation Commission can represent the same political party.

Commission members were Charles Axtman (Chairman), Rosie Black, Jim Gerl, Steve Gorman, and Tish Kelly. The commission met on May 24 and September 28, 2000.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

History of Legislative Compensation and Expense Reimbursement Rates

The Legislative Compensation Commission reviewed information on legislative compensation and expense reimbursement rates in effect from 1889 to 1999, summarized as follows:

Year	Compensation for Each Calendar Day During Session	Expense Reimbursement During Session			Expense Reimbursement or Compensation for Each Month During Term of Office	Compensation for Each Day Attending Interim Meetings
Year	Compensation for Each Calendar Day During Session	Per Session	For Each Day During Session	For Each Month During Session		Compensation for Each Day Attending Interim Meetings
1889	$5	10 cents per mile
1945	$5	$300				$5.00
1949	$5	$600				$10.00
1957	$5	$1,200¹			¹	$10.00
1965	$5	$1,200²			$35²	$10.00
1967	$5		$25		$35	$20.00
1969	$5		$35		$35	$30.00
1971	$5		$40		$50	$30.00
1973	$5		$50		$50	$30.00
1975	$5		$60		$75	$45.00
1977	$5		$60		$150	$45.00
1979	$5		$70		$150	$52.00
1981	$5		$85		$180	$62.50
1983	$40³		$50³		$180	$62.50
1985	$90			$600⁴	$180⁵	$62.50
1997	$111			$650	$250	$62.50
1999	$111			$650	$250	$75.00
¹ Section 54-03-20 was amended in 1959 to provide that the $1,200 payment was reimbursement for expenses incurred during the interim and during the session. ² Section 54-03-20 was amended in 1965 to provide that the $1,200 payment was reimbursement for only those expenses incurred during the session and to provide for payments of $35 per month during each legislator's term of office for uncompensated expenses incurred during the interim. ³ Bismarck legislators received $90 per day during the session as compensation and did not receive any amount for daily expense reimbursement. ⁴ Section 54-03-20 was amended to provide that legislators receive reimbursement for lodging or mileage at the rates provided for state employees, up to a maximum of $600 per month, and $650 per month beginning in 1997. ⁵ House Bill No. 1243 (1985) amended Section 54-03-20 to provide that the monthly amount paid to legislators during the interim was compensation, not reimbursement for expenses.

Current Compensation, Per Diem, and Expense Reimbursement Rates

The Legislative Compensation Commission reviewed information on the current compensation, per diem, and expense reimbursement rates provided to members of the Legislative Assembly, summarized as follows:

Compensation for Regular, Special, or Organizational Sessions
Salary (Section 54-03-20)	$111 per calendar day
Additional compensation (Section 54-03-10)
Speaker of the House	$10 per calendar day
House majority leader	$10 per calendar day
Senate majority leader	$10 per calendar day
House minority leader	$10 per calendar day
Senate minority leader	$10 per calendar day
Chairmen of substantive standing committees	$5 per calendar day
House assistant majority leader	$5 per calendar day
Senate assistant majority leader	$5 per calendar day
House assistant minority leader	$5 per calendar day
Senate assistant minority leader	$5 per calendar day
Expense Reimbursement for Regular, Special, or Organizational Sessions
Lodging expenses (Sections 44-08-04 and 54-03-20)	$42 plus tax per calendar day up to $650 per month
Mileage (Sections 54-03-20 and 54-06-09)	Twenty-five cents per mile for one round trip each calendar week going to and from the meeting of the Legislative Assembly. If travel is by common carrier, reimbursement must be at coach fare and may not exceed 1.5 times the amount the legislator would be entitled to receive as mileage reimbursement for travel by motor vehicle. Legislators who live in districts outside Bismarck are allowed daily round trip mileage reimbursement of 25 cents per mile or lodging reimbursement of up to $42 per night plus any applicable state or local taxes, or a combination of mileage and lodging reimbursement up to a maximum of $650 per month.
Compensation During Term of Office
Compensation paid to legislators during their term of office, either monthly or every six months at the legislator's option (Section 54-03-20)	$250 per month
Additional compensation for majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate (Section 54-03-20)	$250 per month
Compensation for Interim Meetings
Compensation for attendance at meetings of the Legislative Council and its committees (Section 54-35-10)	$75 per day
Additional compensation for:
Council chairman (Section 54-35-10)	$5 per day
Committee chairmen (Section 54-35-10)	$5 per day
Expense Reimbursement for Interim Meetings
Meals (Section 44-08-04)	Up to $20 per day in state; an amount equal to the federal per diem meals rate for out-of-state travel
Lodging (Section 44-08-04)	Actual expenses not to exceed $42 per day, plus any applicable state or local taxes in state; actual expenses out of state
Mileage (Section 54-06-09)	Twenty-five cents per mile by motor vehicle; 18 cents per mile by motor vehicle 150 miles beyond the state border; 35 cents per mile by private airplane

Previous Recommendations of the Legislative Compensation Commission

The commission reviewed previous recommendations of the Legislative Compensation Commission. The 1991-92 Legislative Compensation Commission recommended, in its report to the 1993 Legislative Assembly, that legislative compensation for the 1993 session and the 1993-94 interim remain at the level then in effect and that future legislative compensation levels be increased by the same average percentage provided for state employee salary increases.

The 1993-94 Legislative Compensation Commission recommended, in its report to the 1995 Legislative Assembly, that legislators' monthly compensation be increased by $70 per month, from $180 to $250 per month, to partially reflect salary increases provided to state employees during the 1993-95 biennium. (The 1993 Legislative Assembly provided state employee salary increases of $60 per month and three percent the first and second years of the 1993-95 biennium, respectively.) The commission also recommended that this amount be paid monthly, rather than every six months. The commission's recommendations were incorporated into 1995 House Bill No. 1121, which failed to pass.

The 1995-96 Legislative Compensation Commission recommended three bills for consideration by the 1997 Legislative Assembly:

Senate Bill No. 2051, as passed, included the commission's recommended increase in legislators' monthly compensation from $180 to $250 and the provision that at the legislator's option, this amount be paid monthly rather than every six months. In addition to the commission's recommended compensation increases, this bill was amended to increase from $90 to $111 the amount of compensation paid to legislators for each calendar day during session. The effective date of the bill was changed to apply retroactively to January 1, 1997.
Senate Bill No. 2052, as passed, did not include the commission's recommendation that the Legislative Compensation Commission be allowed to set, rather than recommend, the level of legislative compensation. However, as included in the recommended bill, statutory references to the amount of compensation provided to legislators pursuant to NDCC Section 54-35-10 were removed from sections of the North Dakota Century Code relating to various state boards and commissions and were replaced with the fixed dollar amount of $62.50 per day. Consequently, any future changes to the amount of interim compensation provided to the legislators will not affect members of boards and commissions paid at the same rate. The Legislative Assembly also adopted the recommended provision that no more than three of the five members of the commission represent the same political party.
Senate Bill No. 2053, as passed, included the commission's recommended increase in legislators' maximum lodging reimbursement from $600 to $650 per month, but did not include the recommended increase from $62.50 to $90 per day in legislative compensation for attending interim meetings.

The 1997-98 Legislative Compensation Commission recommended Senate Bill No. 2055, which provided that legislative compensation for attending interim Legislative Council meetings be increased from $62.50 to $75 per day. This bill was passed without change by the 1999 Legislative Assembly.

Other Information

The Legislative Compensation Commission reviewed the following:

The provisions of NDCC Sections 54-03-19.1 and 54-03-19.2 relating to the duties of the Legislative Compensation Commission.
A document prepared by the National Conference of State Legislatures entitled 1999 Compensation and Benefits for State Legislators, which includes information on legislative compensation, expense reimbursement, and benefits provided to legislators in each of the 50 states.
A Legislative Council memorandum entitled Legislative Compensation Increases Compared to Inflation and State Employee Salary Increases - 1981 through 2000. The following schedule compares actual calendar year 2000 legislative compensation rates to 1981 rates adjusted annually for inflation and state employee salary increases:

	Actual 2000 Compensation Rates	1981 Compensation Rates Adjusted for Inflation	1981 Compensation Rates Adjusted for Salary Increases Provided to State Employees
Interim daily compensation	$75	$117.47	$108.77
Session daily compensation	$111	$169.16	$156.57
Monthly compensation during term of office	$250	$338.36	$313.20

A Legislative Council memorandum entitled Arizona Commission on Salaries for Elective State Officers - Legislative Pay Recommendations. The memorandum summarizes constitutional and statutory provisions relating to the Arizona Commission on Salaries for Elective State Officers. The Arizona Commission on Salaries for Elective State Officers makes recommendations relating to legislative compensation rates. The commission's recommendations are submitted to the voters of Arizona for approval. Since 1970, recommended pay increases have been rejected by the voters 11 times, in 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996. Legislative pay increases were approved by the voters in 1970, 1980, and 1998.
A Legislative Council memorandum entitled Budget Adjustments Resulting From Increased Mileage Reimbursement Rate - 1995 House Bill No. 1245. This memorandum indicates that when the 1995 Legislative Assembly passed House Bill No. 1245, increasing the state mileage reimbursement rate from 20 to 25 cents per mile, state agency budgets were not increased to reflect the additional costs. Testimony provided to the 1995 Legislative Assembly in support of the bill indicated that it was the intent of the Legislative Assembly that agency budgets not be adjusted to reflect the higher mileage rate and that each agency adjust travel accordingly to pay the new rate of 25 cents per mile without exceeding the amount appropriated for travel expenses.

Discussion and Comments

The following comments were made by members of the Legislative Compensation Commission or by members of the Legislative Management Committee during a joint meeting held with that committee:

The commission should consider eliminating or reducing the differential between legislative session compensation and interim compensation.
The commission should consider increasing the 25 cents per mile state mileage reimbursement rate to reflect increased gas prices and other costs. It was suggested the mileage reimbursement rate could be increased automatically based on changes in the Internal Revenue Service standard mileage rate.
A portion of the differential between legislative pay during a legislative session and during the interim is attributable to the fact that during the interim, legislators are allowed meal reimbursement of up to $20 per day, in addition to legislative compensation.
Legislation should be introduced to allow the Legislative Compensation Commission to set, rather than recommend, the level of legislative compensation.
The rate of legislative compensation paid by North Dakota may prohibit some people from serving in the Legislative Assembly because they cannot afford to be absent from their jobs or businesses.

Recommendations

The Legislative Compensation Commission recommends:

Senate Bill No. 2175 to amend NDCC Section 54-03-20 to increase legislators' compensation from $111 to $125 per calendar day during legislative sessions. The estimated cost of the bill is $250,344 from the general fund for the 2001-03 biennium.
Senate Bill No. 2176 to amend NDCC Section 54-35-10 to increase from $75 to $100 per day the amount of compensation paid for each day spent in attendance at sessions of the Legislative Council and its committees. The estimated cost of the bill is $138,146 from the general fund for the 2001-03 biennium.
House Bill No. 1197 to amend NDCC Section 54-06-09 to increase the state mileage reimbursement rate from 25 cents to 31 cents per mile. The estimated cost of the bill for the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council is a total of $101,963 from the general fund for the 2001-03 biennium. The statutory change will also impact other agencies that reimburse employees for use of employees' vehicles in lieu of using the central motor pool.