Alaska Senate votes against inflation-adjusted pay for legislators and state execs

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, speaks Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, on the floor of the Alaska Senate. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Members of the Alaska Senate voted 19-0 against a proposal that would automatically adjust the salaries of state legislators and executives for inflation, starting in 2027.

Senate Bill 87, disapproving the proposal from the State Officers Compensation Commission, now advances to the House for consideration. 

Alaska’s governor currently is paid approximately $176,000 per year in salary. The lieutenant governor’s salary is approximately $140,000, and the salaries of state commissioners — in charge of agencies — are approximately $168,000 per year. State legislators receive $84,000 per year in salary.

Under the commission’s proposal, those figures would be automatically indexed to the Consumer Price Index for Anchorage, a measure of inflation in the state’s largest city.

Members of the commission said they felt it is important to have salaries that allow Alaskans of all ages and economic classes to serve in state government. 

Voicing disapproval of the idea on Friday, Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said he believes automatic indexing is a recipe for budget growth and a bad idea because other state employees do not have their salaries adjusted automatically.