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Committee hears pay plan: negotiated raises, health‑plan changes and a proposal to tie legislative pay to average wages
Summary
House Bill 13 would provide a negotiated pay plan for state employees — a $1-per-hour or 2.5% floor increase (whichever is greater), employer health-share increases, higher per-diem tied to 70% of federal rates, and a provision to tie legislative pay to the state average wage. Proponents including agency directors and unions urged passage; no committee vote occurred at this hearing.
Representative John Fitzpatrick opened House Bill 13 as the pay-plan bill negotiated between state management and employee unions. He said the bill’s four components include a salary adjustment (a $1-per-hour or 2.5% increase, whichever is greater), an employer contribution increase for employee health insurance, per-diem rate adjustments tied to 70% of federal rates, and a mechanism to tie legislative pay to the average state wage.
Fitzpatrick described how the compensation structure favors larger percentage increases for lower-paid workers, cited inflation data and outlined the bill’s estimated cost: about $71.9 million from the general fund, $32.9 million from state special revenue, and $19.2 million in federal funds. He said the legislative-pay provision would increase legislator wages in the first phase to an hourly equivalent of about $22.58 and tied future adjustments to a Bureau of Labor Statistics average-wage metric.
Executive proponents — including Ryan Osmundson (budget director), Carol Ann Davis (State HR administrator), Missy Ann Giles (Department of Administration director) and health-plan administrator Amy Jenks — explained the health-plan and per‑diem changes. DOA officials said the state share of health insurance will increase by $26 per month in each year of the biennium and that some employee contributions (incentive and tobacco surcharges) will also rise in 2026 as part of a negotiated package to stabilize plan reserves.
Agency leaders from Corrections, Transportation, Labor & Industry, the university system and others testified that prior pay investments reduced vacancy and turnover rates and that modest negotiated increases would help recruit and retain workers in critical roles such as corrections officers, nurses, building-code inspectors and IT staff.
Union representatives and employee groups (MFP, AFSCME, Trades, Montana State Building and Construction Trades, and others) testified in favor, saying the negotiated deal was modest but meaningful. Committee members asked technical questions about the bill’s components and contingencies (for example, which pieces form the base budget versus one-time adjustments) and discussed the legislative-pay phase-in mechanics.
The sponsor closed by arguing the legislative-pay mechanism removes recurring political conflict over legislator salaries; the hearing concluded and proponents indicated they seek a due pass, with no committee vote recorded at this meeting.
