Salary History of the State’s Elected Officials 1962-2022

Prior to the establishment of the Commission, the Governor’s Advisory Committee (GAC) on Salaries which in 1970 became the State Committee on Salaries (SCS) made salary recommendations to the Legislature for the elected officials’ positions.

The Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials was established in 1986 by a Constitutional amendment and began setting the state elected officials’ salaries in 1987.  Statute declares that the policy of the state is to base the salaries of the elected officials on realistic standards in order to pay them according to the duties of their office and to attract citizens of the highest quality to public service.