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All Democratic and Republican members of the state House voted today to defer pay raises of 10% for themselves that would go into effect on July 1, moving the issue to conference committee with their Senate counterparts.
The vote on the House floor would amend Senate Bill 1350.
After the House preliminary voted on the amendment Tuesday, Gov. David Ige said in a statement that he supported suspending raises for himself, his cabinet, judges and legislators.
In 2019 — before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and while Hawaii enjoyed record tourism numbers — the state Salary Commission recommended legislative pay raises of 10% followed by raises of 2.5% in the subsequent three years.
Last year the Legislature passed a bill that deferred increasing their salaries to $68,868 from $62,604 during Hawaii’s COVID-19 economic crisis.
The House speaker and Senate president each earn additional pay of $7,500.
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