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Midnight Pay Raise
On July 7, 2005 Governor Ed Rendell signed the bill into law, allowing passed pay increases for state lawmakers, judges, and top executive-branch officials, without public review or commentary.
On November 16, 2005, Governor Rendell signed a repeal of the pay raise after a near unanimous vote for repeal. -
Greed Gone Wild
Not only did legislators increase their salaries 16 percent to 34 percent to at least $81,050; more than any state except California. They crafted the package in secret without debate or public scrutiny, then left town. -
Ralph Cappy
Pennsylvania’s chief justice, Ralph J. Cappy, dismissed as “knee-jerk” the negative reaction to the pay-raise plan, which he helped draw up. -
Mr. Potts
Tim Potts, leader of Democracy Rising Pennsylvania, another pay raise critic, was upset that the Supreme Court didn't simply throw out all of Act 44, the July 7 pay raise law.
Mr. Potts contended the entire Act 44 was passed in an unconstitutional fashion. -
Eric Epstein
Eric Epstein, leader of a group called Rock the Capital, said the court didn't go far enough because it failed to order legislators who took the higher compensation to pay it back. Epstein, who refers to those that accepted the raises in 2005 as "pay jackers," said the raises approved at 2 a.m. on July 7, 2005 were salary increases from 16 to 50 percent for members of the legislative, executive and judicial branches. -
Salary increase
Supreme Court associate justices' salaries will increase to about $171,000, from $155,783, as a result of the ruling. Pay of Common Pleas judges will increase to about $149,000, from $135,293, according to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. -
Repeal Day
The legislature repealed the pay raise after four months by a 50-0 vote in the senate a 197-1 vote in the house. -
Scandal
More than 1,000 state judges will get to keep their middle-of-the-night pay raises even though the Legislature repealed the judicial raises in November. -
Russell M. Nigro
The first victim of the public uproar was Supreme Court Justice Russell M. Nigro who became the first Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice to be denied retention. -
Barbara Mcllvaine Smith
On November 2009, Barbara McIlvaine Smith announced that she would not run for re-election in 2010, saying that she was frustrated with the progress of the post-pay raise reform movement.
