No raises for lawmakers until at least 2015

Neither the governor, lieutenant governor nor any of the state's 188 lawmakers will see a pay raise anytime soon. A House of Delegates committee unanimously rejected Thursday the recommendations of a pair of independent commissions that called for moderate pay raises in about three years.

Most state lawmakers make $43,500 yearly; the House speaker and Senate president earn $56,500 each. The governor's salary is $150,000, and the lieutenant governor's is $125,000.

The commissions meet once every four years, meaning that the salaries of those elected officials are to remain the same until 2015. By then, officials will have gone eight years without a raise.

Sean W. Glynn, who headed the panel that looked at lawmaker pay raises, said the recommendation for small increases for lawmakers reflected a desire to be "sensitive" by balancing current issues, such as pay freezes for state workers, with the infrequent salary reviews. However, Gov. Martin O'Malley and House and Senate leaders declared they weren't interested in raises.

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