A bill that became law this week raises pay for Alaska state attorneys, court employees and other state workers, including staffers in the governor’s office and Legislature.
from the Office of Management and Budget, the state’s more than 540 attorneys — including those employed in the Department of Law and other state departments — will get a 20% pay increase under the bill. Other court employees, numbering more than 780, will get a 15% pay increase. Other exempt and partially exempt state employees — including more than 500 legislative staffers, and hundreds working under different state departments — will be eligible for a 5% pay increase.
The bill passed the House just days before the legislative session ended by a 23-17 vote, with some of the chamber’s conservative members opposed. It passed the Senate in a 16-2 vote. Because of a procedural legislative vote failure, the pay increases will not go into effect until the end of October.
Josephson said the bill was born after he learned that state attorneys start around $60,000 — similar to the pay of his legislative staffers. “This bill I see as the single most important thing we can do for public safety in Alaska,” said Rep. Matt Claman, an Anchorage Democrat, adding that the lack of skilled prosecutors has led to a higher rate of acquittals in criminal cases in the state.
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