Pay panel: Slash Oklahoma lawmakers’ salary by 8.8 percent

Pay panel: Slash Oklahoma lawmakers’ salary by 8.8 percent
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A state panel in charge of lawmaker pay says Oklahoma state senators and representatives will see their wages cut.
The Legislative Compensation Board voted 4-3 on Thursday to impose the 8.8-percent pay cut effective in November 2018, when the next class of legislators is elected.
Members of the panel are appointees of the governor, speaker of the House and pro tem of the Senate. Several said the decision was a difficult one, but that the total annual compensation for legislators of $62,000 was too generous given the salary of the average Oklahoman or state worker.
The 8.8 percent reduction would shift a legislator’s base salary from $38,400 to $35,021. The additional pay for House and Senate leaders also will be reduced.