(Jefferson City, MO)-Senator John Cauthorn, R-Mexico, has pre-filed legislation in advance of the General Assembly's next regular session that would adjust the pay of nearly all state employees based on a highly-regarded economic indicator. Senate Bill 181 requires the salaries of most state employees be automatically adjusted at the beginning of each fiscal year to an amount equal to the change in the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI). Cauthorn's measure does not apply to elected (and certain other) statutory officials.

"This isn't a way to boost the pay of state lawmakers," Cauthorn said. "This is a bill that will directly benefit the tens of thousands of loyal and hard-working state employees who haven't seen so much as a cost-of-living increase in over two years, and have watched their insurance premiums take double-digit leaps over the same period."

Cauthorn drafted his state worker pay legislation after having held a series of meetings with state corrections officers in October.

"Our corrections officers our line of defense between the harmed and those who have inflicted harm perhaps best represent the pressing need for raising the pay of all state employees," Cauthorn said. "We're not talking about doubling anyone's paycheck. We're talking about implementing a mechanism for adjusting incomes in order to reasonably keep up with inflation and to stave off the flow of dedicated state workers leaving to work in the private sector."

As an example of impact, using the Midwest CPI's running average of 2.71 percent over the last 10 years, a Missouri corrections officer now earning $23,345 (a departmental average at this writing) would realize a pay increase of $632. Cauthorn realizes budget considerations will loom large during the process of advancing this legislation.

"Again, the sputtering economy takes center stage on the national and state levels," Cauthorn said. "Money's tight in the state budget, but it's tight in the homes of state workers, too. It's simple: we ask for an enormous amount of services from state government. But none of these services can be delivered without a solid workforce, and you don't build a strong workforce by effectively reducing people's paychecks year in and year out."

Cauthorn emphasized that his plan's reliance on the area's CPI data, which is compiled and published by the U.S. Department of Labor, is fiscally responsible on a number of fronts. "For one, the CPI is based on accurate information from all market sectors and segments; it's a fully-representational cross section of the region's economic pulse," Cauthorn said. "Secondly, linking state worker pay to the CPI will actually smooth out budget spikes in the future. Instead of doing nothing for two or three years and letting employee morale sour, annually adjusting pay in manageable increments - say two to four percent smoothes the budget process while also serving to acknowledge that we realize people are the state's greatest asset.

Cauthorn's state workers' pay parity act is one of several bills he has filed in advance of the Jan. 8 start of the 2003 legislative session. The advance work can make the difference between a bill becoming law, and a bill stalled in the lengthy lawmaking process.

"We were able to accomplish quite a lot in this year's session, despite the challenges brought on by a tight budget and the usual differences of opinion found in any statehouse," Cauthorn said. "Much remains to be done, though, and the time we have in the Capitol each year always seems to fly by in an instant. That's why I've already put together a number of bills I think will improve the quality of life for Missourians of all walks of life."