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Committee introduces RS 31,791 to raise pay for Commission of Pardons and Parole commissioners
Summary
RS 31,791, introduced by Representative Mathias, would increase daily pay for commissioners who preside over parole hearings from $300 to $400; sponsor said unpaid preparation time and a heavy caseload are leading commissioners to resign.
Representative Mathias presented RS 31,791 to the House Judiciary and Rules Administration Committee, saying the measure is aimed at recruiting and retaining members of the Commission of Pardons and Parole by increasing their daily pay.
"These commissioners only get paid for days that they actually work participating in hearings," Representative Mathias said. He described an unpaid preparation workload that he estimated at approximately 26 hours of reading for a single day of hearings, based on 40 pages per hearing packet and an average reading time per page. Mathias said there are about 7,000 hearings a year and forecasted a wave of departures among commissioners if compensation is not adjusted.
Mathias asked the committee to print the RS; Representative Mathias moved to introduce RS 31,791 and the committee approved the motion by unanimous voice vote. Committee leadership also encouraged members to observe parole and probation hearings to better understand the workload.
No fiscal note discussion or specific effective date was recorded in this hearing; the RS was introduced for further drafting and hearing steps.
