Should lawmakers in Louisiana make more money? State Rep. Joe Marino thinks so.
While speaking with WWL’s Newell Normand this week, he revealed that salaries for legislators haven’t gone up since 1980. Marino believes raising the $16,800 annual paychecks to $60,000 will inspire more people to run for office.
He’s proposed legislation – House Bill 149 – to do just that.
“This is about the future legislators and the future leaders that we’re going to try to attract to come in and stop a career or pause a career, or leave their other job and come serve for $16,800,” Marino explained. He also said he won’t benefit, as his term limits are coming up.
Marino is a lawyer who is part of Marino & Ehle, LLC and was first elected in 2016. He said that, despite the perception that lawmakers just work 60 days a year, being an elected official in Louisiana is a full time job.
“I had this delusion that I would be able to balance my law practice and be a legislator because… we're only in session two or three months a year,” Marino said. “But that... quickly ended probably about a month after we started.”
In addition to regular session dates, there are special sessions, meetings with constituents and more, he said.
“I’m in the legislature to try to make change. But it costs a lot of money to be here,” he told Normand. “And we’ve limited the number of people who can do the job by not changing the salary.”
Listen to the full conversation here.
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