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Considering Albany’s rotten reputation, the idea of giving New York’s 213 elected lawmakers a raise is a tough sell. On Thursday, they took a giant step toward that goal when a four-person commission recommended that lawmakers get a hefty raise: a $30,500 rise next year, bringing their base pay to $110,000. Two more raises of $10,000 per year will follow in 2020 and 2021.

Albany’s elected officials currently make $79,500 a year, before various perks and stipends, a salary that hasn’t budged in nearly 20 years, when Gov. George E. Pataki approved a salary increase in exchange for the creation of charter schools in the state. That was in 1998.

If adopted — the commission is set to issue a final report by Monday — the state’s lawmakers would be on pace to receive the largest base salaries of any state’s elected officials, surpassing California.

In exchange, the lawmakers will see restrictions on legislative stipends and outside income.

Albany’s legislators have been agitating for a raise for years, including in 2016 when an earlier commission (Albany loves a good commission) effectively shot down a pay increase after representatives of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo balked at backing one.