Two members of the Arkansas Supreme Court are urging a panel reviewing elected officials' salaries to give justices a higher pay raise than what's initially been recommended.
Justices Jo Hart and Karen Baker told the Independent Citizens Commission on Monday that justices deserve a higher pay raise because of their workload and in order to ensure the state's most talented lawyers are running for the court. They were among five people to speak at a public hearing on the commission's pay proposal.
The seven-member panel has called for more than doubling legislators' salaries and granting substantial pay raises to other elected officials. The commission has called for raising justices' pay from $149,589 a year to $166,500.
The panel plans a final vote on the pay raises March 16.