Panel recommends raises for Georgia lawmakers
ATLANTA - A Georgia committee recommends that state lawmakers receive $12,000 raises in 2019.
Georgia's compensation committee is also recommending the state's House speaker and other elected officials have their pay raised to $43,000, an increase of $20,000.
The compensation committee compared statehouse salaries with those in Georgia county courthouses as well as states across the nation.
The report found that Georgia's salaries were above average in some areas such as secretary of state; in the middle for lawmakers and lieutenant governors; and low for attorneys general.
Georgia lawmakers have long complained about their base salary of $17,342, and they've often used it as a reason they quit to make more money.
The panel is recommending that legislative pay rise to $29,908.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.