by Scott Dreyer

Recent days, the Democrat-led General Assembly voted to increase the salary of State Delegates and Senate to $50,000 per annum.

Virginia has always had part-time lawmakers in its General Assembly. It was intended that they would have their main jobs at home and serve in the Richmond legislature for only a few short weeks each year. They were paid a modest amount in accordance to their limited time.

Many Virginians earn more at full-time, year-round jobs than they do with a salary of $50,000.

The Democrats used “affordability’ as their major platform in the fall campaign of 2025.

Republicans were mainly against the nearly 300% increases. The measure has now passed both houses in the General Assembly and needs to be approved by the Governor. Abigail Spanberger’s (D) signature is required for the measure to become law.

According to state law, lawmakers cannot vote for themselves a raise in pay during the same session that they vote. The pay increase cannot take effect before a new election. Therefore, the 278% raise will not be implemented until 2028.

Delegates currently earn $17,650 per year and senators $18,000. The proposed increase would almost triple each to $50,000 per year.

Virginia General Assembly is a bicameral body, with an upper and lower house. The Senate is the upper chamber, and it has only 40 members who serve four-year terms. Lower house is the House of Delegates with 100 members who serve two-year terms.

The proposed increase in pay would be equal for both houses. In 1991, during a recessionary period, the House of Delegates cut its members’ pay by 2%.

Contrary to 1991 when some lawmakers cut their benefits in order to better match the hardships of residents, this General Assembly raises their salaries, despite that many Virginians are struggling today with unemployment and inflation, as well as “shrinkflation.”

The Democrat literature that was sent to the homes of Roanoke county residents to support Lily Franklin in her successful bid to unseat incumbent Chris Obenshain, showed a strong focus on affordability. There were no references to Franklin supporting higher salaries for lawmakers if Democrats won the majority as they did following the November 2025 election.

This is an article republished from the Roanoke Star.