Lawmakers gave Louisiana’s state police a 20 percent pay raise today, siding with troopers who packed the State Capitol and disregarding concerns about the state’s deep financial problems.
The Associated Press reports the salary hike is estimated to cost more than $20 million a year and $10 million for the remaining months of the current budget year that ends June 30. Before approving the raise, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget scaled it back from an original proposal that had troopers getting an average 36% bump in salary.
The House vote was 24-5, and the Senate vote was 13-3. The committee’s chairmen—Rep. Jim Fannin, R-Jonesboro, and Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville—both opposed the raise, expressing concern the state couldn’t afford the increase.
Col. Mike Edmonson, Louisiana State Police superintendent, said the money was needed to keep trooper pay competitive with other law enforcement salaries. He said the pay grid for troopers—which gives the officers graduated pay increases over 22 years—hasn’t been adjusted since 2002.
“To sit here and look for a good time, there’s simply not a good time. But I can promise you this with all my heart, it’s the right time. It’s the right time to take care of the men and women that we have asked to do so many different things,” Edmonson said.
Opponents questioned if the financing source earmarked for the raise would be sufficient to cover the costs in later years. They also said it was inappropriate to give raises when struggling to balance the budget, which has a $1.4 billion hole next year, threatening higher education and health care services.
The current starting salary for a trooper is $35,609. Before the pay hike, salaries on the pay grid topped out from $59,229 to $97,760 depending on the rank an officer achieves. Those salaries will be bumped up by 20% on average with today’s approval.
Dollars for the trooper pay raise will come from a fee hike on uninsured motorists that lawmakers passed on the final day of the last legislative session. The penalties and fines have fallen short of estimates, however. Legislative Fiscal Officer John Carpenter advised lawmakers that he felt comfortable the fees could cover the cost of a 20% pay raise.
