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Delaware State Senate Rejects Pay Hike for State Officials

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The state Senate has voted unanimously to reject a state panel's recommendation to raise the salaries of Delaware judges and certain cabinet officials.

Wednesday's vote follows last week's unanimous House vote rejecting the pay recommendations of the Delaware Compensation Commission.

The commission meets every four years to review salaries for judges, lawmakers and top executive branch officials and to recommend whether pay raises are warranted. Its recommendations take effect automatically unless rejected in their entirety by lawmakers.

The panel had recommended a 6 percent raise for judges, and raises from 2 percent to 9 percent for certain cabinet secretaries.

But lawmakers said Delaware's financial situation is too uncertain to authorize the pay increases for top-ranking officials. The commission did not recommend pay increases for lawmakers.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.