New law gives attorney general a 16% pay raise

Like everyone else on the state payroll, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is getting a boost in his salary this year.

The size of his paycheck, however, will jump nearly 16 percent thanks to a new law that takes effect Monday. That's more than six times the 2.5 percent wage hike approved for state workers and other elected officials, including Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

"Obviously, I'm delighted with it," Shurtleff said. "I think it's appropriate and right."

The attorney general's current salary of $85,400 — which will climb to $98,895 starting July 1 as a result of Monday's new law — has been criticized for years as too low compared to salaries of other public attorneys in and out of Utah.

While most agree that Utah's top law enforcement officer was making too little, politicos also point out that the GOP-controlled Legislature never gave a Democrat attorney general that kind of pay hike, waiting until a Republican held the post to make the big pay jump.

Lawmakers finally took action during the 2005 Legislature, voting to set the attorney general's salary at 95 percent of what the governor makes. Their action went beyond the recommendation of the state's Executive and Judicial Compensation Commission, which for years has said the Utah attorney general was extremely underpaid.

The commission, which historically recommends bigger raises for the state's top officials and judges than lawmakers are willing to approve, proposed setting the attorney general's salary at 90 percent of the governor's. That's nearly $4,000 less than Shurtleff will get.

"I didn't lobby for it. I didn't ask for it," said Shurtleff, who won a second term as attorney general last year. But he's glad to take it.

Shurtleff's pay raise didn't come without some complaints. When the bill was up for final passage the last day of the general session, Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, said it wasn't the right time.

Legislators gave state employees a 2.5 percent cash pay hike, plus 2 percent more in increased benefits. But they also cut back the health-care insurance benefit for future state retirees, an action that drew a long, angry response from career state workers.

"We're giving public employees small raises this year," said Ray when the bill passed the House 41-28. "We didn't do this (a 16 percent raise) for public employees, and we should not do it for (one of) the executive offices."

Sponsor Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, an attorney himself, originally wanted the pay hike to take effect after the 2008 election. But his HB128 was amended in the Senate to give the pay hike to Shurtleff on July 1.