'We Need To Pay People:' Lawmaker Pushes To Raise State Salaries By 9%

We're less than two months away from the start of the 2024 legislative session, and we're taking a closer look at some of the bills that lawmakers will be discussing. One on the table would give a nine percent pay raise to all state employees.

“We need to show appreciation for the state employees for what they're doing, and so now's the time,” said Sen. Roger Thompson, (R) Senate Budget Chair. “Health insurance cost is up over six percent, we're looking at a three percent inflationary cost that's out here.”

Senate Budget Chair Roger Thompson filed a bill this week that will give across-the-board 9% pay raises to state employees. He says this hasn’t been done since 2019 and is long overdue in the current economic climate. “Hopefully our message to them is that your service is valued and you are appreciated,” said Sen. Thompson.

He expects the raises to cost about $173 million but says the state has that money in the bank. “I also believe fundamentally that we need to pay people, and the legislature is the one that needs to be able to appropriate the money to be able to pay the salaries, it's the right thing to do,” said Sen. Thompson.

Sen. Thompson worries if we don’t invest in our state employees, they will start turning to the private industries. He says he’s spoken to some that have already made the move to private, and some that are ready to leave soon if their salary doesn’t change. “We want to have our best and brightest working for the state of Oklahoma,” said Sen. Thompson.

During a time when a lot of the capitol conversation is centered around cutting taxes, Thompson wants to put the focus back on services and people. “In my district, no one is really talking about tax cuts on a regular basis. What they are talking about is our schools, our nursing homes, they're talking about our hospitals and healthcare,” said Sen. Thompson.

He knows some of his colleagues will push back on the bill, but he says he has high hopes of getting some money back into state employees' pockets next year. “The cost of living has certainly gone up since 2019, and so the overall reason is we have the money, it's the right thing to do, and this is the year to do it,” said Sen. Thompson.

This bill will be presented when the session starts in February 2024.