Legislative staff salaries average more than $56,000

The 2,234 employees of the California Legislature earn an average of $56,675
annually, up slightly from the year before, in jobs that range from
maintaining order in the houses to running the bosses’ errands to crafting
complex and politically charged legislation. The per-capita average is about
$12,000 a year higher than workers in Marin County, which has the highest
per-capita income average of California’s counties, and nearly triple the
level of workers in surrounding Sacramento County.

Nearly 200 employees earn $100,000 annually, or more.

The figures were compiled by the Legislature at Capitol Weekly’s request. A
complete listing of the salary data, which Capitol Weekly runs four times a
year, appears in today’s B Section. The figures do not include the separate
agreements, such as consulting contracts, that some employees have, nor do
they distinguish between full and part time.

The Legislature’s $125.72 million payroll–$66.9 million in the Assembly and
$58.8 million in the Senate–includes 195 people who earn at least
$100,000 a year. Although the salary numbers vary house to house, the
proportional disparity between the highest paid person and the lowest paid
worker is about the same: In both the Senate and Assembly, the highest-paid
employee earns 16.5 times that of the lowest paid.

The Legislature’s highest-paid salaried employee is Daniel Eaton, chief of
staff to Assembly Speaker Fabian Nu