Legislative leaders have revived a controversial proposal to give themselves and other state officials a sizable raise at a time when Massachusetts faces persistent budget gaps, and most residents’ wages are growing relatively slowly.
State lawmakers said they would hold a hearing on the issue Thursday, a sign that pay raises could be gaining traction — more than two years after an advisory commission recommended dramatic salary increases for state officials and top lawmakers. The proposal would cost the state about $934,000 annually.
Lawmakers in the tightly controlled Legislature would be unlikely to schedule a hearing on the issue — and risk a backlash — unless they had some intent to move forward with the plan.
The announcement was made by House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg, whose pay would jump more than 70 percent, from $102,279 to $175,000, if the commission’s recommendations are passed into law.
“We’re very pleased that someone is finally taking seriously the work that we put in,’’ said Ira Jackson, vice provost at the University of Massachusetts Boston, who was chairman of the commission created by the Legislature to study the thorny issue.
In 2014, the panel also recommended that the governor’s salary be boosted from $151,800 to $185,000; the attorney general’s from $130,582 to $175,000, the auditor’s from $134,952 to $165,000; and the secretary of state’s from $130,916 to $165,000.
No action was taken on the 2014 recommendation.
The last pay raise on Beacon Hill was a 4.19 percent bump, granted last month under a constitutional amendment that ties the salaries of legislators and officials to changes in the state’s median income. Before that, the last raise, of 5.6 percent, was in 2009.
Although the most recent raise also applied to constitutional officers, Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito opted not to accept the additional pay.
Jackson said the commission found salaries “inadequate and anomalous’’ when compared to those for officials in other states, and to the salaries paid to private-sector executives at large companies.
Raising pay, Jackson said, would rectify an awkward situation in which many government lawyers and other employees earn more than their bosses and would help ensure that average citizens — not just the wealthy — can afford to serve in elected office.
“You want a salary that is appropriate and ensures that talented people from all socioeconomic groups and from the broad geography of Massachusetts will feel that they can contest and run,’’ Jackson said.
Criticism came swiftly, however, from a conservative group. “The only place this report doesn’t sound ludicrous is under the Golden Dome,’’ said Paul Craney, of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.
DeLeo and Rosenberg, both Democrats, did not explain why they were resurrecting the pay-raise recommendations now, more than two years after they were delivered in the waning days of Governor Deval Patrick’s second term.
“That report outlines the findings of a non-partisan group of experts,’’ DeLeo and Rosenberg said in a joint statement. “The Legislature has yet to hold a public hearing on either this report or an earlier 2008 report. We look forward to the hearing and testimony from experts and the general public on the 2014 report.’’
In addition to pay increases, the commission recommended a number of other changes, including a ban on statewide officials and legislative leaders earning outside income and the elimination of “per diem’’ payments that lawmakers collect for traveling to the State House.
The recommendations were never acted upon, in part because Baker, then the governor-elect, poured cold water on the idea, saying it was inappropriate to raise salaries when the state was facing a budget gap.
“Now is not the time to be talking about pay increases on Beacon Hill,’’ Baker said in December 2014, warning that he would “probably veto’’ the plan.
On Tuesday, however, Baker did not reject pay hikes out of hand. A spokesman said only that Baker and Polito would not accept a bump for themselves. (Polito’s pay would have jumped from $134,932 to $165,000.)
“The governor and lieutenant governor have no plans to accept a pay increase and will carefully review any legislation that comes to the governor’s desk,’’ said Billy Pitman, Baker’s press secretary.
The timing, however, might be thorny. Just over a month ago, Baker unilaterally slashed $98 million from the state budget to close the latest in a barrage of budget shortfalls that have plagued the state. The cut was relatively small, in the context of the $39 billion annual state budget, but it hit health care for the poor, suicide prevention, the State Police crime laboratory, literacy programs, parks, and the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.
In July, when the next fiscal year begins, the state is projected to face yet another budget gap of $500 million to $615 million, according to independent fiscal analysts.
For residents of Massachusetts — 28 percent of whom qualify for Medicaid — wage growth has been tepid. The median income inched up 2 percent in 2015, from $69,223 to $70,628, according to the Census Bureau. Nationwide, the median household income grew 3.8 percent, to $55,775.
Secretary of State William F. Galvin said Tuesday that he was glad pay raises have been revived based on the commission’s recommendations. He said IT specialists and securities lawyers in his office are paid more than he is.
“I certainly support the concept of an adjustment based on reality,’’ Galvin said.
Michael Wessler, spokesman for Auditor Suzanne M. Bump, said she “supports a hearing, but hasn’t taken a position on the recommendations.’’
Michael Levenson can be reached at Michael.Levenson@globe.com.
