For Immediate Release:
March 9, 2004
Senate Appropriations Chairman Announces
Pay Raise Plan for State Employees
Senate Appropriations Chairman Mike
Morgan Tuesday announced a plan to give state employees
a long-overdue, two-phase pay raise.
Morgan said the Senate measure would give state workers
a 5-percent pay raise beginning January 1, 2005, and then
an additional 3-percent raise beginning July 1, 2005.
State employees last received a pay increase in 2000.
“Our state employees have gone too long without a
raise. These men and women provide critical state services
to the people of Oklahoma. In recent years, as agency budgets
have been slashed, they’ve been asked to do more with
less – all the time without getting even a cost of
living increase in their paychecks.
It’s time we rewarded our employees for the outstanding
work they do for our state,” said Morgan, D-Stillwater.
The average state worker, including classified and non-classified
employees, currently earns $33,076 per year. The average
employee will see an increase of $1,654 per year effective
Jan. 1, 2005, and an additional $1,042 effective July 1,
2005.
The net effect of both pay raises will push the annual average
salary from $33,076 to $35,772 by July 1, 2005.
Funding for the 5-percent pay increase is included in the
Senate version of a general appropriations bill for Fiscal
Year 2005, Morgan said. House members approved HB 2007 by
a 79-18 vote February 24. Senators are scheduled to consider
the floor substitute for House Bill 2007 Wednesday.
Cost of the first phase of the employee pay plan is approximately
$24.6 million. When fully implemented for FY 2006, the pay
plan will cost approximately $78.8 million annually.
The Oklahoma Constitution allows funding
for pay increases to be included in a general appropriations
bill. The language specifying the raises for most state
employees, however, will be included in Senate amendments
to House Bill 2005.
Morgan said the full Senate could consider the pay raise
measure as early as Thursday.
Funding for a raise for Highway Patrol troopers is also
included in the general appropriations bill, but the specifics
of the trooper pay increase plan are included in Senate
Bill 1137, authored by Senator
Kenneth
Corn. The bill compresses the current 14-step pay plan
into seven steps at a cost of $3.1 million.
For
more information contact:
President
Pro Tempore Office - (405) 521-5605
