MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2020 Regular Session

To: Appropriations

By: Representative Lamar

House Bill 21

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 5-1-43, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE SALARIES OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 2024; TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-31, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE SALARIES OF THE GOVERNOR, ATTORNEY GENERAL, SECRETARY OF STATE, COMMISSIONER OF INSURANCE, STATE TREASURER, STATE AUDITOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE, TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONERS AND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1, 2024; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

     SECTION 1.  Section 5-1-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until January 1, 2024, this section shall read as follows:]

     5-1-43.  (1)  The salary of the Lieutenant Governor and of the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000.00) annually, and they shall receive for attending each extraordinary or called session the same compensation and mileage as is provided for members of the Legislature. * * *  However, in the event the Lieutenant Governor serving on the effective date of Laws, 1997, Chapter 577, shall be re‑elected for the term beginning in the year 2000, he shall continue to receive an annual salary of Forty Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars ($40,800.00).

     (2)  On the first day of each month, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall receive in twelve (12) equal monthly installments the compensation provided for pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

[From and after January 1, 2024, this section shall read as follows:]

     5-1-43.  (1)  The salary of the Lieutenant Governor and of the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be * * *Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000.00) Ninety Thousand Dollars ($90,000.00) annually, and they shall receive for attending each extraordinary or called session the same compensation and mileage as is provided for members of the Legislature. * * *  However, in the event the Lieutenant Governor serving on the effective date of Laws, 1997, Chapter 577, shall be re‑elected for the term beginning in the year 2000, he shall continue to receive an annual salary of Forty Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars ($40,800.00).

     (2)  On the first day of each month, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall receive in twelve (12) equal monthly installments the compensation provided for pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

     SECTION 2.  Section 25-3-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until January 1, 2024, this section shall read as follows:]

     25-3-31.  The annual salaries of the following elected state and district officers are fixed as follows:

Governor....................................... $122,160.00

Attorney General................................ 108,960.00

Secretary of State..............................   90,000.00

Commissioner of Insurance.......................   90,000.00

State Treasurer.................................   90,000.00

State Auditor of Public Accounts................   90,000.00

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.........   90,000.00

Transportation Commissioners....................   78,000.00

Public Service Commissioners....................   78,000.00

 * * * If the person serving as Governor on December 31, 2003, is reelected to the Office of Governor for the term beginning in the year 2004, he may choose not to receive the salary increase authorized by this section, but to receive, instead, an annual salary of One Hundred One Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars ($101,800.00) during his new term of office by filing a written request with the Department of Finance and Administration.

[From and after January 1, 2024, this section shall read as follows:]

     25-3-31.  The annual salaries of the following elected state and district officers are fixed as follows:

Governor................................. $ * * *122,160.00 195,000.00

Attorney General..........................  * * *108,960.00 175,000.00

Secretary of State........................  * * *90,000.00 125,000.00

Commissioner of Insurance.................  * * *90,000.00 125,000.00

State Treasurer...........................  * * *90,000.00 125,000.00

State Auditor of Public Accounts...........  * * *90,000.00 125,000.00

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce...  * * *90,000.00 125,000.00

Transportation Commissioners...............  * * *78,000 105,000.00

Public Service Commissioners...............  * * *78,000 105,000.00

 * * * If the person serving as Governor on December 31, 2003, is reelected to the Office of Governor for the term beginning in the year 2004, he may choose not to receive the salary increase authorized by this section, but to receive, instead, an annual salary of One Hundred One Thousand Eight Hundred Dollars ($101,800.00) during his new term of office by filing a written request with the Department of Finance and Administration.

SECTION 3.  From and after November 1, 2024, and every four (4) years thereafter, the State Personnel Board shall prepare a written report to the Legislature that examines, evaluates and recommends an adequate level of compensation for the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance, State Treasurer, State Auditor of Public Accounts, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Transportation Commissioners, Public Service Commissioners, Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  In preparing the report, the board shall consider all appropriate factors including, but not limited to, comparative salaries for each of these positions in neighboring states and in the Southeast as a whole; salaries of comparable professionals in government, academia, and the corporate sector; changes in public sector spending; rates of inflation; and the overall economic climate.

     SECTION 4.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.

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