On Nov. 5, 2024, Oregon voters will decide on establishing a commission that would determine the salaries of certain public officials.
The ballot measure, which passed the Oregon State Legislature on June 25, would amend the Oregon Constitution to establish the Independent Public Service Compensation Commission. The commission would decide the salaries of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, state senators, state representatives, district attorneys, judges of the Oregon Supreme Court, judges of other courts under the administration of the judicial branch of state government, and commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries or any successor agency. The constitutional amendment would prohibit state officials, employees, lobbyists, and family members of these individuals from serving on the commission.
State Democratic Leader Katie Lieber (D), who co-sponsored the amendment, said, “This is really about professionalizing, in some ways, how we do this and taking our own salaries out of the hands of politicians to set. I want to make sure that wage analyses are able to be done by human resource professionals who have an expertise in compensation.”
