SPRINGFIELD - Representative Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) co-sponsored legislation, House Bill 643, to reject the automatic Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for legislators set to take effect for Fiscal Year 2018. HB643 passed out of the Illinois House this week on a vote of 98-3 and now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Bourne co-sponsored similar legislation every year since taking office to reject COLAs. “Given our lack of budget and the record debt that Illinois has accumulated through years of mismanagement, raises should clearly be off of the table,” said Bourne.
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The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data used to determine the amount of the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) that is applied to member salaries and is used to determine the amount of increase, this year it is calculated at 2.1%.
If the General Assembly and the Governor do not enact a law prohibiting payment of the COLA, this amount will automatically become part of the salary to which members are entitled and paid, even if funding for the salaries and COLA is not appropriated. This automatic compensation was created by SJR 192 through an act of the 86th General Assembly. The last Legislative COLA were funded in FY07.
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