Committee directs LSO to draft bill revising state contribution for county prosecutors' salaries

The Joint Appropriations Committee on June 23 voted to direct the Legislative Service Office to prepare a working bill draft (26 LSO-466) to revise state contributions to county and prosecuting-attorney salaries. Representative Pentagraph moved the directive, it was seconded and approved by voice vote.

LSO staff told the committee the current statutory scheme (18-3-107) sets county and prosecuting‑attorney salaries and defines the state share as either one-half of the salary or $50,000, whichever is less. Matt Ore of LSO summarized the mechanics, saying the statute ties the high end of county-prosecutor pay to circuit-court judges and that recent budget action provided a temporary biennial increase to the state share.

Loretta Kalis, who identified herself as a county and prosecuting attorney and president of the Wyoming County and Prosecuting Attorneys Association, told the committee that in 21 counties prosecutors function as quasi state employees and face heavy caseloads. “We are effectively state employees,” she said, arguing that the current statutory minimums and the 18‑year‑old $50,000 reference are out of date and that the two‑year bump in the budget will leave counties exposed at the end of the biennium if statutory fixes are not made.

Members pressed staff for county-level numbers. LSO noted wide disparities: Weston County’s county/prosecuting‑attorney position remains at roughly $75,000, other low‑end counties ranged near $96,000–$117,000, while statutory caps tied to judge pay put some salaries far higher. Committee members discussed options including (a) tying the state share to a percentage of salary rather than a fixed dollar cap, (b) indexing county‑prosecutor pay to federal judges or judicial pay bands, (c) mandating county use of state funds for prosecutor pay, or (d) allowing counties flexibility but using reversion language so funds revert to the state if not spent as intended.

Jeremiah Reman of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association asked the committee to consider county budget constraints: counties set four‑year salaries and said one‑time state help creates a long‑term liability if state support is not continued. LSO and county stakeholders discussed drafting changes to remove the constraining fixed‑dollar references and to preserve a mechanism for legislative oversight of future salary increases.

The committee’s motion to instruct LSO to rework the draft and provide cost estimates carried on a voice vote. Committee chairs asked LSO to include alternative drafting options (for example, 70/50/30 percent share models and reversion language) and to present cost impacts at the next meeting.

What happens next: LSO will return with a revised bill draft and fiscal calculations for the committee’s August meeting. The motion and related discussion were intended to keep the focus narrow — updating the state share and statutory indexing for county and prosecuting attorneys — while avoiding broader salary changes outside the committee’s directive.