Bill > H5010

This bill aims to reform and regulate legislative stipends, providing additional compensation to legislators beyond their base salaries, with the goal of promoting transparent and efficient lawmaking. The stipends are tiered based on leadership positions and committee involvement, with the Senate President and Speaker of the House (Group 1) potentially receiving up to 75% of their base compensation amount, while other legislative leaders and committee chairs receive lesser percentages, all subject to appropriation and performance-based adjustments. The bill defines various categories of legislative leaders, such as "Group 2 legislative leaders" (including chairs of the ways and means committees and floor leaders) and "Group 3 legislative leaders" (including assistant floor leaders and vice chairs of ways and means committees), and establishes criteria for "eligible committees" which are those receiving over 50 bills. A significant aspect of the reform involves performance-based payments, where a portion of the stipend for certain leaders, particularly Group 4 leaders (chairs of eligible committees), is contingent on their committees achieving "compliance," meaning they have held public hearings and mark-up sessions on referred bills by specific deadlines and have approved reports by majority vote at public meetings. The bill also introduces a "compliance percentage" calculated by the clerks of the Senate and House, which affects the final payment of stipends for Group 1-3 leaders, and sets limits on the number of positions for which a legislator can receive additional compensation. This legislation is set to take effect on January 6, 2027.

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5010