ALBANY, N.Y. (WKBW) — A lawsuit has been filed in State Supreme Court in Albany, attempting to block a the first raise for state lawmakers in nearly 20 years. A state compensation committee voted to increase legislative pay from $79,500 annually to $130,000 earlier this month.
The Government Justice Center filed the lawsuit Friday morning which claims that the raise, set to go into effect on on New Year's Day, is unconstitutional and will radically change the rules of serving in the state Legislature. The GJC also claims that the state violated open meetings law by discussing some of the key issues related to the raises in private.
“The Government Justice Center’s job is to take action when government breaks the rules, and our state government is definitely breaking the rules here,” said GJC executive director Cameron Macdonald. “The Legislature violated the constitution by delegating its lawmaking power to this committee. But even worse, letting that committee set the pay for members of the State Assembly and Senate violates explicit language in the state constitution.”
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