State Legislature Pay??

I found a listing of pay by state for 2005:

Alabama $1,050.00
Alaska $24,012.00
Arizona $24,000.00
Arkansas $14,067.00
California $110,880.00
Colorado $30,000.00
Connecticut $28,000.00
Delaware $39,785.00
Florida $29,916.00
Georgia $16,524.00
Hawaii $34,200.00
Idaho $15,646.00
Illinois $57,619.00
Indiana $11,600.00
Iowa $21,380.54
Kansas $6,651.00
Kentucky $7,657.65
Louisiana $16,800.00
Maine $11,384.00
Maryland $40,500.00
Massachusetts $55,569.39
Michigan $79,650.00
Minnesota $31,140.90
Mississippi $10,000.00
Missouri $31,351.00
Montana $3,379.00
Nebraska $12,000.00
Nevada $3,900.00
New Hampshire $100.00
New Jersey $49,000.00
New Mexico $8,460.00
New York $79,500.00
North Carolina $13,951.00
North Dakota $7,000.00
Ohio $56,260.60
Oklahoma $38,400.00
Oregon $16,284.00
Pennsylvania $69,647.00
Rhode Island $12,646.00
South Carolina $10,400.00
South Dakota $6,000.00
Tennessee $16,500.00
Texas $7,200.00
Utah $5,400.00
Vermont $12,705.00
Virginia $18,000.00
Washington $34,227.00
West Virginia $15,000.00
Wisconsin $45,569.00
Wyoming $4,500.00

States listed in Red have full-time legislatures.

Data is from:
http://www.csg.org/about/documents/PagesfromFebruaryStateNews.pdf

It's not just the salary for lawmakers.

For Minnesota -

Lawmakers increase per diem to $96 a day
The per diem is supposed to pay for food and lodging for those that have to travel long distances to attend the legislature but almost every legislator that lives less than an hour away takes the full amount for every day they are in session.

They are considered part time and are supposed to be in session only 120 days per biennium. They can work in committee without the legislature being in session.

I am originally from New Hampshire where the salary is $100 per year.

The problem with this is that working class citizens can't run for this office. The legislature is reserved for those with the means to spend this time working without pay.

There was a time in America when State level Representatives could make a pretty good living. But governments started cracking down on kickbacks. Still, many reps still find their positions profitable.

Agreed! There are dozens of other "perks". Long term, I'd like to collect as many of them as possible. I know that here in MA they have full benefits (insurance, retirement, etc..) but there are also things like free car registration and they can't be stopped by police while on official business so, in effect, they are free to break any motor vehicle laws they choose to break. (As far as I know it is mostly parking problems - unpaid tickets - though. I've never heard of anyone having a DUI or anything at that level of seriousness and getting away with it...)