Sen. Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow, has made the first motion on state employee compensation: 3 percent merit raises, per the governor’s recommendation, plus an additional 1 percent across-the-board increase for the nine pay grades that fall the farthest below standards. That would add $6.7 million to the cost of the governor’s proposal. Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, seconded the motion.

Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, made a substitute motion. “I think we should stay within the 3 percent, and split it 1 percent to the base and 2 percent to the merit,” he said. “That would keep it simple, everyone would understand that.” And its cost would be the same as the governor’s recommendation, he said. “One percent would be across the board, and the other 2 percent would be merit-based.” Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene, seconded Hartgen’s motion.

Rep. Robert Anderst, R-Nampa, made an amended substitute motion: Just 2 percent merit-based raises, plus charge state employees for 10 percent of the $1,040 per employee increase in health insurance costs next year, which the governor had called for the state to cover. “The reality is that we do have a finite amount of resources,” he said. “There’s large aspects of the current budget proposal that incorporate significant investments in the pay scale of state employees, large swaths of them.” He was referring to the teacher career ladder plan. Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, seconded the motion.

Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, said he wanted to move for 3 percent merit raises, but there's no room for another motion at this point, unless the initial three are voted down.