State Senator Wes Climer is suing his House and Senate Colleagues for illegally giving themselves a pay raise. The $18,000 per year raise in "in-district compensation" is money set aside for legislative duties. It has few limits on how it can be spent.
The bill introduced by Senate Leader Shane Martin late in the session raises the allowance from $1,000 a month to $2,500 a month for all 46 senators and 124 House members starting in July .
The monthly stipend hadn't changed in about 30 years, and Martin said the increase was needed to offset inflation. However, Climer's lawsuit says the raise violates the state constitution, which bans the legislature from increasing their per diem funding during their term.
The Rock Hill Republican compares that to asking a judge to preside over his own trial or a police officer to investigate himself. Lawyers for the House and Senate have not answered the lawsuit.
