Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) recently criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul’s support for calling a special session prior to the next legislative season to raise lawmaker’s salaries. If a pay increase were passed, New York would have the highest-paid lawmakers in the country. A raise would increase lawmakers’ salaries by 61 percent since 2019.New York is already facing relentless criticism for its record-high state spending since the end of the pandemic.

“This rhetoric is completely senseless. With the New York state legislature already being the second highest paid state governing body in the country, we should be organizing a special session to tackle real issues that matter to all New Yorkers,” Hawley said.

“We are experiencing our highest inflation rate in decades and should be addressing issues that affect the people we represent. New York’s top priorities must be public safety, eliminating the sales tax on gasoline and lowering taxes for all New Yorkers to help make our state more affordable. We must not allocate any additional funding for more government spending as it would inevitably come back to haunt taxpayers.”