Determinants of Legislator Compensation in California and the Residual Impacts of Proposition 1A

After cutting legislator pay by 18% in 2009, the California Citizens Compensation Commission, an independent body charged with determining the pay of statewide elected officials, opted to forego an additional 10% cut in 2010. Since 1990, the Commission has raised legislators’ mean base salary 10 times, deferred pay increases six times, and reduced pay once. Past research on legislative compensation has found nonsignificant relationships between independent pay commissions and legislative salaries. The present study adds to our knowledge on compensation by finding that the Commission has a substantial positive effect on legislator pay. Furthermore, I investigate the merits of the suggestion that increases in legislator pay may work against the political goals advanced by Democrats in the 1960s particularly with the passage of Proposition 1A. I conclude that Democratic representation in California is not threatened by frequent increases in pay and, instead, the passage of Proposition 1A has only worked to further entrench Democratic ideals.