Suffolk County state Supreme Court Judge Alison Napolitano temporarily struck down an outside income ban for legislators set to take effect in January 2025.
The outside income ban was part of a larger, previously passed pay raise package. The deal required a limit of $35,000 in outside income in exchange for the pay raise. The outside income limit part of the deal is now on hold due to the judge's ruling.
In 2022, the Legislature passed a $32,000 salary increase for state legislators, bringing their base salary from $110,000 to $142,000. This whopping 29% salary bump in just one year brings the New York State legislature to the outrageous title of being the highest-paid state legislature in the country. The salary increase came with a catch – there would be a phased-in cap on outside income of $35,000 from nongovernment sources.
Who wants to block the outside income limit and why is this important to governance? Eleven Republican lawmakers sued to block the income limit claiming it violates the state constitution. The plaintiffs point to the constitution that clearly lists the requirements for a legislator - U.S. citizenship, five years of state residency, and one year living in the district – and that’s it. There is no constitutional provision or intent to effectively make someone sell their business or quit their job to be a legislator.
The eleven Republican lawmakers that brought the suit make it clear that the raise/income cap deal puts in jeopardy the fundamental American ideal of "citizen legislator" as the Founders intended. Spending a lifetime working for the taxpayer was never what was intended as our country began and limiting outside income and making the legislative salaries high incentivizes career politicians. The concept of citizen legislator goes back to Greece and continues today. The idea is that to serve your fellow man you ought to have some "fellow man" experiences yourself.
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt offered support for the lawsuit saying, “Our founding fathers supported the idea of citizen legislators over career politicians. This ruling affirms that principle and protects the ability of citizens from all walks of life to serve in the state Legislature.”
We have all seen modern-day career politicians being made fun of when they have no idea what a gallon of milk costs or can’t figure out how to scan an item in a self-checkout. Because regular working Americans are familiar with all of these day-to-day things, these examples show a level of "out-of-touchness" that rings flat in the ears of the common man.
It is not an unreasonable thing to want the people making rules and laws for you to follow to have similar day-to-day experiences with all the difficulties and hurdles that business owners, moms, and regular working Americans deal with every day. Having these regular experiences of owning a business, being a parent, or working in the supermarket grounds a person and gives them perspective - a perspective that is important when you are considering laws that your community will be expected to obey.
“The attempt by Albany Democrats to disqualify citizen-legislators in favor of full-time politicians raises serious constitutional questions. The court recognized these concerns and ruled appropriately yesterday,” said Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay.
The lawmakers claim in their suit that the dramatic salary increase coupled with a limit on outside income creates a permanent platform for "career politicians" rather than "citizen lawmakers." This creates an out-of-touch, often elitist political class that easily loses touch with regular Americans. Lawmakers should be a little hungry and not just sit on the fat salary from the taxpayer. They should have some outside, regular-folk employment.
The judge said in her ruling that the lawmakers had a “strong likelihood of success.” The judge also said that enforcing the cap during the legal proceedings could harm lawmakers and candidates who might have to make permanent decisions about their outside employment or businesses.
In other words, a potential candidate could have to make a decision to sell their car dealership, give up their insurance agency job, or close their day care center if they wanted to run for office. This begs the question of whether you should have to quit your job or sell your business if you want to serve in your government. The answer for many is no.
The state attorney general may choose to appeal the state Supreme Court’s decision to the Appellate Division.