House Minority Leader: We Can’t Afford Pay Raises
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
House Minority Leader Bob Watson is proposing new restrictions on pay increases for General Assembly staff.
Watson told GoLocalProv that he’s requested a special meeting of the Joint Committee on Legislative Services to review policies on pay increases for staff at the General Assembly.
Watson said he wants the committee to consider a policy that would require its approval anytime any hiring or promotion results in an employee making more than $100,000 annually.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWatson also wants to end longevity pay raises. He said the General Assembly can’t afford them anymore, nor is it obligated to pay them.
“We’re not a union shop … and we can do what we want,” Watson told GoLocalProv. “We should lead by example.”
His request is the latest development in an ongoing controversy over pay increases for some members of the General Assembly staff.
The Joint Committee on Legislative Services is made up of the majority and minority leaders of both the Rhode Island House and the Senate. Watson said he sent the letter to the other four members—including Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and House Speaker Gordon Fox—asking for a meeting at the end of the month.
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