Bill Summary — HB 5494
Title: AN ACT ELIMINATING COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENTS TO LEGISLATOR COMPENSATION
Bill Number: HB 5494
Introduced: March 14, 2025
Primary Subject: Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for members of the General Assembly
Current Status: Referred to Joint Committee on Appropriations; committee substitute reported favorably and report sent to Calendars (most recent committee action: 2025-05-14)
Purpose and intent
The stated intent of HB 5494, based on its title, is to eliminate automatic cost‑of‑living adjustments (COLAs) that increase compensation for members of the General Assembly. The bill seeks to stop statutory or automatic mechanisms that raise legislators’ pay periodically to reflect inflation or changes in cost of living.
Key provisions (based on bill title and procedural materials)
Because the full statutory text is not included here, the following describes the principal actions the bill is intended to take:
- Eliminate automatic or statutory COLAs that currently apply to legislator compensation (salary, stipends, or similar pay mechanisms).
- Remove or amend any existing statutory references that trigger periodic increases tied to a consumer price index or other inflation measure.
- Make future changes to legislator pay subject to discrete legislative action (i.e., an act or appropriation), rather than automatic adjustment formulas.
Specifics that are not available in the summary provided (and should be confirmed in the bill text):
- Whether the elimination applies to current sitting members, newly elected members, or both.
- Effective date of the elimination.
- Any grandfathering, transitional provisions, or exceptions (e.g., for office allowances, per diem, retirement benefits).
- Interaction with legislative retirement/benefit formulas (if any).
Who would be affected
- Primary: Members of the General Assembly (state senators and representatives) whose pay is currently subject to COLAs.
- Secondary: State budget/Fiscal Office — decreases the trajectory of legislative compensation growth and may reduce projected salary expenditures over time.
- Indirect: Potential impacts on recruitment, retention, and long‑term compensation competitiveness for legislative officeholders.
Procedural timeline / legislative status
- Filed: 2025-03-14
- Referred to Joint Committee on Appropriations: 2025-01-21 (note: date appears earlier than filing; committee referral sequence in bill record)
- Read first time & referred to subcommittee on Family & Fiduciary Relationships: 2025-04-07
- Subcommittee public hearing and testimony: 2025-04-22 (left pending; later recalled)
- Committee consideration and substitute: 2025-05-08 (considered in formal meeting; reported favorably as substituted)
- Committee report distributed/Filed with Committee Coordinator: 2025-05-13
- Committee report sent to Calendars: 2025-05-14
Next steps: Placement on a legislative calendar for floor consideration by the full chamber(s) and possible concurrence/return to the other chamber if amended.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Fiscal: Eliminating automatic COLAs would likely reduce future salary growth costs for the legislature; a formal fiscal note would quantify projected savings over multiple years.
- Policy: Transfers control of pay increases from an automatic mechanism to discretionary legislative action, increasing legislative oversight but also politicizing future raises.
- Legal/Administrative: May require statutory cleanup where COLA mechanisms are referenced; must clarify applicability to compensation-related benefits (e.g., pensions, per diems).
- Political/Practical: Could affect morale, recruitment, and retention of legislators; public perception may be favorable for cost‑saving measures.
Recommendation / next steps for readers
- Review the bill’s full text and committee substitute to confirm precise language, effective date, and scope of application.
- Obtain the official fiscal note from the Appropriations Committee to assess budgetary impact.
- Monitor calendar scheduling for floor action and any amendments that change scope or add exceptions.
If you want, I can draft a short memo comparing HB 5494 to current statutory provisions on legislator COLAs and estimate potential budgetary effects (requires access to current salary schedules and any existing COLA formulas).
