The Alaska Senate has passed legislation rejecting pay raises for top state officials. The vote was 19-0. The bill now goes to the Alaska House. The State Officers Compensation Commission proposed raising the salaries of the governor, lieutenant governor and department heads, mainly referred to as commissioners, to catch up with pay increases for other executive-branch employees. Gov. Sean Parnell in December said he would decline an increase for himself but said he believed an increase in pay for commissioners was warranted. The increases would be effective July 1, unless a bill disapproving all the recommendations is enacted within 60 days after the recommendations are submitted. Sen. Kevin Meyer (R-Anchorage) said he believed the recommendations had merit but the time for pay raises was not right, given the state budget constraints.
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