Panel member floats 25% pay hike for Michigan officeholders, gets rebuffed

Lansing — A Michigan appointee proposed Wednesday increasing the salaries of state officeholders by 25%, but the commission in charge of recommending wage changes rejected his plan in favor of another that would benefit only Supreme Court justices.

Lawrence Nolan, a lawyer from Okemos and one of seven members of the State Officers Compensation Commission, argued, during a three-hour meeting, the salaries for Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Supreme Court were unacceptable and fell below the wages for similar positions in other states.

Nessel, the top law enforcement official, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the top election official, are paid $112,410 a year. Nolan said he wanted to make "a statement" and "right what has been wrong for the last decade or more."

Michigan has the 12th lowest paid attorney general among the 50 states.

"The wages that are being paid are woefully inadequate and not in line with reasonable compensation for people in commensurate positions," Nolan said after the meeting.

Nolan, who was appointed to the commission by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, proposed a 25% across the board salary increase for Nessel, Benson, Whitmer, the Supreme Court and the 148 members of the state Legislature.

Under Nolan's plan, state lawmakers would go from making $71,685 a year to $89,606 a year. The governor would increase from $159,300 to $199,125.

Whitmer is the 19th highest paid governor in the country, according to data compiled by the Michigan Civil Service Commission. Nolan's proposal would have made her the fifth highest paid governor.

However, no one else on the the compensation commission, which has to make a recommendation to lawmakers every two years, would second his motion so it wasn't considered for a Wednesday vote.

Other commission members said while a 25% increase might be warranted, lawmakers wouldn't approve it because of potential political blow back so it wasn't useful to recommend it.

"They want a pay raise, but they don't want to vote for one," compensation commission Chairman Robert Emerson said of lawmakers after the meeting.

Generally, for the last decade, Michigan lawmakers have refused to approve pay increases for themselves or other elected officials despite inflation and pay hikes for regular state workers. During that time, the Legislature was led by Republicans, but Democrats now hold narrow margins of control.

In 2021 and 2022, lawmakers declined to take up a commission-backed proposal to increase salaries 2% annually over 2023 and 2024. In 2020, lawmakers signed off on a 5% pay increase annually for two years for just members of the Michigan Supreme Court. Their salaries are now $181,483 a year.

But Supreme Court Justices Brian Zahra and Beth Clement appeared at Wednesday's compensation commission meeting to argue for a 7% increase annually for two years in the future.

Clement presented data that showed Michigan Supreme Court justices make about about $65,000 less than federal circuit court judges, and by 2028, are on track to make $24,218 less that state appeals court judges.

Noting the many years without salary changes in Michigan, Zahra said the current compensation commission process, which is set in the state Constitution, is broken and unsustainable.

"That can only change with a constitutional amendment," Zahra said. "And I think the Legislature should put something on the ballot for the people to consider changing this process."

Likewise, Bryant Osikowicz, an assistant attorney general, appeared before the commission, saying Nessel's salary was inadequate. He recommended a "substantial" increase.

Nessel makes less than most other states' attorneys general and less than most of the assistant attorneys general who work under her in Michigan, Osikowicz said.

Emerson said there were about 200 people in Nessel's office who make more than she does. Nolan said Nessel should be making twice what's she making now.

Eventually, the commission declined to propose an increase in the attorney general's salary, citing concerns that the Legislature would block the change for political reasons.

Instead, the panel voted 5-2 to propose a 7% increase annually for Supreme Court justices' salaries over two years. If approved by the Legislature, their salaries would rise to about $207,780. Under the proposal, justices would also begin getting $10,000 expense accounts.

Currently, the governor gets a $54,000 expense allowance, and lawmakers get $10,800 expense allowances.

Michigan Supreme Court justices currently are the 34th highest paid among the 50 states, according to Michigan Civil Service Commission research.

cmauger@detroitnews.com