Subd. 1. Creation.

A Compensation Council is created each even-numbered year to assist the legislature in establishing the compensation of constitutional officers, members of the legislature, justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals and district court, and the heads of state and metropolitan agencies included in section 15A.0815.

Subd. 2. Membership.

The Compensation Council consists of 16 members: two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; two members of the senate appointed by the majority leader of the senate; one member of the house of representatives appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; one member of the senate appointed by the minority leader of the senate; two nonjudges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court; and one member from each congressional district appointed by the governor, of whom no more than four may belong to the same political party. Appointments must be made by October 1. The compensation and removal of members appointed by the governor or the chief justice shall be as provided in section 15.059, subdivisions 3 and 4. The Legislative Coordinating Commission shall provide the council with administrative and support services.

Subd. 3. Submission of recommendations.

1. (a) By May 1 in each odd-numbered year, the Compensation Council shall submit to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate salary recommendations for constitutional officers, legislators, justices of the Supreme Court, and judges of the Court of Appeals and district court. The recommended salary for each office must take effect on the first Monday in January of the next odd-numbered year, with no more than one adjustment, to take effect on January 1 of the year after that. The salary recommendations for legislators, judges, and constitutional officers take effect if an appropriation of money to pay the recommended salaries is enacted after the recommendations are submitted and before their effective date. Recommendations may be expressly modified or rejected. The salary recommendations for legislators are subject to additional terms that may be adopted according to section 3.099, subdivisions 1 and 3.
2. (b) The council shall also submit to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate recommendations for the salary ranges of the heads of state and metropolitan agencies, to be effective retroactively from January 1 of that year if enacted into law. The recommendations shall include the appropriate group in section 15A.0815 to which each agency head should be assigned and the appropriate limitation on the maximum range of the salaries of the agency heads in each group, expressed as a percentage of the salary of the governor.

Subd. 4. Criteria.

In making compensation recommendations, the council shall consider the amount of compensation paid in government service and the private sector to persons with similar qualifications, the amount of compensation needed to attract and retain experienced and competent persons, and the ability of the state to pay the recommended compensation. In making recommendations for legislative compensation, the council shall also consider the average length of a legislative session, the amount of work required of legislators during interim periods, and opportunities to earn income from other sources without neglecting legislative duties.

Subd. 4a. Constitutional officers.

No constitutional officer whose compensation is set under this section may receive monetary compensation for unused vacation or sick leave accruals.

Subd. 5.

[Repealed, 1987 c 404 s 191]

Subd. 6. Expiration.

Each Compensation Council shall expire upon submission of the recommendations required by subdivision 3.