What is the annual salary of a Texas state Senator?

Answer 1

$600 per month, less than minimum wage, as provided by Article III, Section 24, of the Texas Constitution.

They also receive a per diem, or a daily payment for room and board, during regular and special sessions of the Legislature, which is usually determined by the Internal Revenue Service on a city by-city basis and was $118 for Austin during the 76th Legislative Session this year. Legislators' salaries may be increased by the Texas Ethics Commission, but only with voter approval, and the commission has never recommended a pay increase.

This was back in 1999, mind you. So I'm not sure what it is now.

For 2010, the State salaries can be found online through the Texas Tribune, starting with the Governor, and searchable by many means:

Go to http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/state-of-texas/titles/governor/990/

Yet another Detailed source is through Sunshine Review.

http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Texas_state_government_salary

Another Source of information comes from Senator Senator Jeff Wentworth's site:

His answer from August 20, 1999 is cited below:

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist25/pr99/p082099a.htm

How much do state senators and state representatives get paid? What is the governor's salary? What about the salaries of other statewide elected officials?

Although Texans are curious about elected officials' salaries, they are reluctant to ask, because most of us were taught that asking a person's salary is at least impolite, if not downright rude. In the case of the people who represent you in local, state or federal government, however, you have a right to know, since it's your tax money that is paying those salaries.

Texans are often surprised to learn that our part-time citizen-legislators are paid a salary of $600 per month, less than minimum wage, as provided by Article III, Section 24, of the Texas Constitution.

We also receive a per diem, or a daily payment for room and board, during regular and special sessions of the Legislature. In accordance with the Constitution, the Texas Ethics Commission sets the per diem, which is usually determined by the Internal Revenue Service on a city by-city basis and was $118 for Austin during the 76th Legislative Session this year.

Legislators' salaries may be increased by the Texas Ethics Commission, but only with voter approval, and the commission has never recommended a pay increase.

Although the lieutenant governor is the second-highest elected official in the executive branch of Texas government, he is paid the same salary as members of the Texas Senate and the House of Representatives, $600 per month.

If the governor is out of state for 24 hours or more, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor and receives the governor's salary, pro-rated on a daily basis.

According to House Bill 1, the appropriations bill passed by the 76th Legislature this year, Governor George W. Bush is paid an annual salary of $115,345 in addition to his residence in the Governor's Mansion. When Governor Bush is out of state, Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry receives $316 per day, instead of his regular salary of approximately $20 a day.

The appropriations bill also set the annual compensation for the attorney general, comptroller of public accounts, commissioner of agriculture and commissioner of the general land office at $92,217 each.

These men and women are the top officials of agencies that manage the government affairs of Texas. The comptroller of public accounts, for example, is the state's chief fiscal officer, bookkeeper, tax collector and economic forecaster.

Agriculture is the state's second largest industry, and the Department of Agriculture oversees the marketing, financing and regulating of our state's agricultural products.

The Office of the Attorney General executes the laws of Texas, safeguards the rights of the State and, in some limited circumstances, prosecutes those who break the law or assists local district attorneys do the same. It is the office responsible for the collection of child support payments and is currently being revamped in an effort to improve the collection process.

The General Land Office is the management agency for state lands and mineral rights properties totaling 20.6 million acres. Most of the revenue generated by the agency is placed in the Permanent School Fund which has received more than $6.6 billion in deposits since the fund was created in 1854.

It is appropriate that top officials who work year round are much better paid than part-time legislators. There are those, however, who argue that low salaries limit the number of people who can run afford to run for the legislature.

Because most Texas families cannot live on $7,200 a year nor can most Texans afford to be away from their businesses for 140 days every two years, an attempt was made in 1989 to raise legislators' salaries to $23,375 per year. The proposition was defeated, and no serious effort to grant legislators a pay increase has been put forth since.

Answer 2

The annual salary of a Texas state Senator is $7,200.