BEATRICE – The Nebraska Legislature’s Executive Board held hearings Monday on two measures that would change state lawmaker pay, through constitutional changes.


Both LR 7-CA offered by Senator Myron Dorn and LR 25-CA offered by Senator Ben Hansen would put the question of increasing legislative pay, before voters.


Dorn’s proposal asks citizens to consider increasing pay from the current $12,000 annually to $30,000…..through a vote in the November 2026 General Election. Dorn said the last time pay was increased was in 1988…from $4,800 to $12,000. "In an article from Governing-dot-com in December of 2022, if Nebraska Senators salaries just would have been adjusted for inflation and not for any other kind of increase, the salary today would be thirty thousand."


Senator Ben Hansen’s proposed constitutional amendment would pay state lawmakers a new pay level starting January of 2029, using a nonpartisan commission to set pay…if voters approve of that method.
Hansen said the original motive behind the low pay level in Nebraska was respect to taxpayers, reducing corruption and emphasizing service to communities.


"On the flip side, though, requiring someone to dedicate half their year preparing for and attending the legislative session, while committing the rest of the year to meetings and community engagements earning $12,000, could be seen as counter productive. The national average salary for legislators was $39,216 in 2021. Nebraska makes it very difficult for people working normal jobs to be able to represent their community as a state senator."


A concern is that the pay for state lawmakers is so low, it’s hard to get anyone to run for the body.
Heidi Uhing, Public Policy Director for Civic Nebraska….supports Hansen proposed Constitutional Amendment. She said low pay for state lawmakers prevents people from running. She says using a nonpartisan commission to set pay is something already used in 22 states.


Uhing said Nebraska’s Legislature was formulated to be a part-time job, but it’s now considered a hybrid position in which lawmakers spend about 75-percent of their time serving citizens. "Close observers of the legislature know that to do this job well, it is at least a full-time job. We expect senators to give it their all and prioritize their service to the state, but the low pay does not reflect that expectation. We put future senators in a bind to have something to offer our legislative process, but need to feed, house and insure their families."


Uhing says the low pay level means few can afford to run, other than the independently wealthy or retired.
"We need more working class Nebraskans, more parents, more diversity in this body to keep it working best, for us. When the pay is better, more candidates can run for these offices and Democracy is strenghtened when voters have more choices for who will be representing them."


Gavin Geis, Executive Director of Common Cause Nebraska….says it costs each Nebraska resident about 30-cents for state lawmakers’ time…..when millions of dollars are spent on lobbying to influence state lawmakers.