HARRISBURG — Fiscal responsibility is an axiom in Harrisburg, but nearly none of Pennsylvania’s 253 state lawmakers seem to mind when their own salaries swell spending.

State House and Senate lawmakers receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their salaries under a 1995 law meant to shield them from political blowback for voting for their own pay increases.

The automatic raises vary each year, but typically represent a 1% to 3% bump in pay. The salary hike was temporarily suspended in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but raises resumed the following year — boosted by high inflation.

At the moment, the base pay for state legislators in both chambers is $95,432. That number could push past $100,000 next year, according to an analysis by The Caucus/LNP, adding to the price tag for Pennsylvania’s already expensive, full-time legislature.

Lawmakers can return the increase to the state treasurer, but records obtained by Spotlight PA show very few do.

Since 2008 — the first year for which records are available — 176 lawmakers have paid back almost $578,000, according to the State Treasurer’s office. Of that, 93% was given back before 2018.

(Other lawmakers may donate their pay bump to charity, The Caucus/LNP reported, but it is difficult to independently verify who does and does not without access to private financial documents.)