An Arkansas panel has approved a 2 percent pay raise for all of the state's top elected officials except the lieutenant governor, who has said he didn't want the bump in salary.
The Independent Citizens Commission voted 4-0 to increase the salaries for the state's constitutional officers, legislators, judges and prosecutors. The pay raise will take effect in 10 days.
Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin last week said he opposed the pay raise and said he would decline the additional money if approved by the panel. The panel voted to keep Griffin's salary at $42,315.
The commission was created through a constitutional amendment voters approved in 2014. The officials' salaries had previously been set in the state constitution, but the Legislature was allowed to make cost-of-living adjustments.
