Senate committee reviews bill to create independent commission on legislative pay and expand health-plan access

Senator Bielski introduced S.229 at a Jan. 14, 2026 meeting of the Senate Government Operations Committee, saying the bill would create a Legislative Compensation Commission to remove the legislature from setting its own pay and to study compensation, benefits and staffing changes intended to improve recruitment and retention.

The sponsor told the committee that parts of S.229 mirror S.164 and that the health-insurance provision in the bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, while other statutory changes would take effect July 1, 2026. "We would no longer be responsible for setting our own pay," Senator Bielski said, describing a seven-member commission with appointments split between the two houses and one appointee from the governor. She said the commission would be barred from including current members of the General Assembly, current legislative employees or registered lobbyists.

Bielski outlined an extensive first-year charge for the commission: review salaries and benefits, staffing and administrative support, length of legislative sessions, participation in the state employees' health plan and whether supplemental reimbursements (child or dependent care, elder care, retirement) or prorated salary throughout the calendar year should be offered. The commission would deliver written recommendations by Dec. 15 of the first year of the biennium; those recommendations would take effect unless the General Assembly voted to decline them.

Committee members pressed the sponsor on practical and budgetary implications. Bielski cited a Joint Fiscal Office estimate that a health-care line item in related legislation had been about $1,689,000 and described that figure as a "high middle" estimate that could vary depending on how many members enrolled. Chair Caldwell said she had seen more recent estimates in the $2 million–$5 million range for the health-plan portion, and she raised administrative concerns about eligibility timing tied to election cycles and whether a small number of enrollees would alter premium dynamics.

Senator Hoyt, who said she cosponsored the bill, urged language barring appointment of people with close financial relationships to legislators (for example, domestic partners) to avoid perceived conflicts of interest; Bielski said she was open to adding such a prohibition. Senator Clark asked about commission size and confirmatory technical support; Bielski said administrative and technical assistance would come from the legislative office of human resources and the Joint Fiscal Office rather than legislative counsel because the commission would have no sitting legislators.

Several senators recalled the political sensitivity of prior pay-reform efforts, including last session's S.39, which passed the Legislature but was vetoed. Speakers warned that media framings about pay increases had complicated earlier reforms and underscored the need for clear public explanation of what commissioners would recommend.

The committee did not take a vote. Members requested a day of testimony from the legislative office of human resources and the Joint Fiscal Office to explain enrollment mechanics, eligibility, cost scenarios and administration before further consideration of S.229 or related bills. Chair Caldwell adjourned the session and the committee planned to reconvene for additional testimony.

What’s next: The sponsor said she will monitor testimony from HR and JFO; the commission, if created, would submit its first formal recommendation by Dec. 15 of the first year of the biennium, which the General Assembly could affirm or vote to decline.