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SALT LAKE CITY — An independent panel recommended Tuesday that statewide elected officials in the executive branch receive annual cost-of-living raises at the same rate as state employees.
The Elected Official and Judicial Compensation Commission also suggested the state do the same for judges in addition to a 1.5 percent pay increase over the next three years to attract better applicants for open judgeships.
"The cases are getting more complicated," said Commission Chairman David Clark.
Clark, a former Utah House speaker, told the Executive Appropriations Committee that the six-member panel is recommending only cost-of-living increases to salaries for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor and state treasurer.
Their annual pay, he said, falls into the middle third of salaries for those positions nationally.
The governor now makes $156,825 a year, the attorney general $148,983 and the other three statewide executives $141,142.
Clark said state judges received a salary bump in 2016, but it makes more sense to raise their pay in small increments and review in three years whether it has the intended effect.
Applicants for judgeships mostly come from the public sector, not the private sector, he said, adding it's unlikely that partners in large firms would apply for those positions.
District and juvenile court judges earn $166,300, while appellate court judges make $174,600 and Utah Supreme Court justices $182,950.
Clark also suggested the compensation commission no longer review and make salary recommendations for the Utah State Board of Education, which would take a change in state law.
The appropriations committee agreed to run a bill next legislative session to do that. It did not take action on the commission's recommendations for the executive branch or the judiciary.
