This past spring, Illinois passed a state budget that included some $1 billion in new taxes and record levels of spending but failed to grapple with a public-transportation system deficit. What rankled some critics most was a raise that Illinois lawmakers, already among the nation’s best paid, voted for themselves. The deal included a 6.5 percent increase in base salary and annual stipends that would lift total pay to $128,000 a year. Only lawmakers in New York (who boosted their pay in 2022 to $142,000) and in California clearly earn more when all income sources are considered. Since 2019, Illinois lawmakers have now received several raises, totaling $30,000 in base pay alone.
Illinois officials, including Governor Jay Pritzker, who approved the raises, argue that higher pay will help attract and retain talent in government. The state is part of a broader progressive push to phase out part-time citizen legislators in favor of a full-time professional governing class. Well-paid lawmakers, the argument goes, are less susceptible to corruption and can devote more time to constituents. Advocates even claim that professional legislators “are more responsive to public opinion,” citing research that part-time lawmakers, who typically rely on outside employment, are more likely to be “captured” by corporate interests.
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In practice, states with full-time, high-paid legislators often fare poorly in independent studies measuring government effectiveness, while states that retain part-time legislatures include some of the best-managed. The core duty of any state legislature, after all, is to craft a budget with clear spending priorities and the means to fund them. One recent study, a joint venture of the Institute for Truth in Accounting and the University of Denver, found that more than half of states spent more than they raised in their most recent fiscal year—accomplishing that by keeping some liabilities, such as pension costs, off the books, even though taxpayers must eventually repay the debt. The five worst-managed states for taxing and spending included California, where legislators earn over $128,000 a year, as well as Illinois and Massachusetts, which ranked seventh in lawmaker pay. New York earned a D, placing 39th, while Michigan—with a full-time legislature and the eighth-highest salaries—ranked 35th. Among the top five states for legislative pay, only Alaska also scored high in fiscal management. Three of the five best-managed states—North Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah—maintain part-time legislatures.
A core function of local government is financing and maintaining infrastructure. All state governments take on this crucial task. But how they manage it varies widely. Every year, the Reason Foundation produces an annual report comparing the condition of state roads and bridges with government spending. Among the least effective states are those with the highest-paid legislatures—Alaska, California, New York, and Massachusetts. Illinois and Pennsylvania, both in the top five for legislative pay, fared little better, ranking 36th and 37th, respectively. Only one of the top ten states for infrastructure performance, Ohio, has a full-time legislature. North and South Carolina—where part-time lawmakers earn less than $15,000 a year—ranked as the most efficient, delivering well-maintained roads at reasonable cost.
Perhaps the clearest measure of state government performance is citizens voting with their feet. Since the pandemic, the migration numbers are striking. California, New York, and Illinois alone have lost a combined 2.5 million residents to domestic out-migration. The biggest winners are states with part-time legislatures, led by Texas, Florida, and the Carolinas. Covid policies clearly played a role: states that imposed the harshest lockdowns saw some of the highest rates of out-migration.
Other policies also help drive migration. Recent polls in California, for instance, show that cost of living, especially housing, generates much of the desire to leave. Behind those costs are restrictive zoning policies, high government development fees, and mandates that make even “affordable” housing unaffordable. Energy prices are another factor. Government policies in high out-migration states like California, New York, and Massachusetts help drive some of the nation’s highest electricity and gas prices.
Why do governments with full-time lawmakers so often perform poorly? One reason is that professional legislatures create an elite political class, insulated by careers spent inside government and detached from the experiences of ordinary citizens. By contrast, the part-time citizen legislator—earning a living outside government and working alongside fellow citizens—tends to produce more responsive government.
Yet some states want to get rid of the citizen legislator. New York has enacted a law banning lawmakers from earning more than $35,000 a year of outside income. Advocates say that the cap will curb corruption and ensure that lawmakers focus on constituents. But the real effect will be to smother independent voices in Albany. Of the 38 legislators who would need to resign or give up their everyday jobs under the cap, most are Republicans, including those with small businesses or farms. The effect will be to push New York’s legislature even further toward a permanent political class.
Continually boosting pay for legislators means more career politicians—but not better government.
Photo: Illinois’ state capitol building in Springfield. Lawmakers in Illinois earn more than in any other state but for New York and California. (Sean Pavone / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images)
