Miscellaneous

State Senator Ann Duplessis has caught a lot of flack lately for proposing a substantial pay raise for state legislators. Whatever you think of her proposal, two things should be universally accepted:

1. If legislators are going to be paid at all, then from time to time, a pay raise will be appropriate.
2. The legislators' vote in favor of a pay raise for themselves will always be unpopular with voters.

My own 2¢ on this issue: We should have a provision in the Louisiana Constitution similar to the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

No Law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

Under the 27th Amendment, a Congress can never enact a pay raise for itself; any pay raise is for the benefit of the next Congress. This has two benefits. First, it reduces the conflict of interests in the Congress voting on the pay raise, as 100% of the representatives and 33% of the senators have no guarantee of being part of the next Congress. Second, it promotes the perception (maybe even the reality) that any vote in this area is motivated by genuine economic concerns rather than self-interest or fear of unwarranted voter backlash.