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(Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)

Four members of Gov. Robert Bentley's cabinet got annual raises of $73,000 late last year after the Legislature approved a bill to repeal salary caps.

Inside Alabama Politics reported the story today.

Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Administrator Mac Gipson, Department of Economic and Community Affairs Director Jim Byard, Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee and Insurance Commissioner Jim Ridling all received raises of $73,405.

That increased their annual salaries to $164,419, an 80 percent jump.

Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar received a raise of $64,008, bringing her salary to $205,792, a 45 percent increase.

The raises were based on legislation that passed last year -- Senate Bill 186 by Sens. Greg Albritton, R-Bay Minette and Arthur Orr, R-Decatur.

The bill removed salary caps for some cabinet positions and allowed the governor to set new salaries within ranges approved by the State Personnel Board.

The bill changed a law more than 40 years old that had originally capped cabinet salaries at $35,000 a year.

That cap had grown incrementally to $91,000 over the years, rising when state employees received cost-of-living adjustments.

Instead of the cap, SB 186 authorized the State Personnel Department to set salary ranges for appointed positions, as it does with state employee merit jobs.

According to the Personnel Department, most cabinet members subject to the cap earned 65 percent to 76 percent of what their peers in other states received.

The new salary ranges give the governor flexibility without being bound by an "unreasonably low cap," according to the Personnel Department.

The state Personnel Board approved the ranges at its meeting in August.

Albritton and Orr said the legislation was intended to fix a situation that led governors to circumvent salary caps by paying some department heads from the payrolls of other agencies.

Some salary caps were too low to recruit officials to run large agencies with huge numbers of employees, Orr said.

But Orr said he was concerned about giving such large raises now because of the state's financial problems.

"While some raises may have been justified, I'm troubled by the amount of raises that I've read about," Orr said.

Orr, after reviewing more information about the new pay ranges, said the raises were "outrageous" and not justified by comparisons with other southern states.

Orr said it was his understanding last year that department heads would start out at the lower end of the new ranges, but that is not what happened.

Albritton also said the amounts of the pay increases were a concern.

"Which raises the question, are they as broke as they claim to be?" Albritton said.

ABC Administrator Gipson said he did not ask for a raise and said he was not involved in the discussions.

But he said the salary level before the raise, $91,000, was generally not enough to attract the kind of candidates the job needs, noting that the ABC Board generates about $400 million in annual sales.

"What would you pay a CEO of a $430 million profitable corporation?" Gipson asked.

Insurance Commissioner Ridling, who was first appointed by former Gov. Bob Riley and then reappointed by Bentley, said he did not ask for a raise but did warn both governors that the salary for some cabinet positions, including his, was too low to attract a qualified candidate from the private sector.

"I don't even think you would get a response," Ridling said.

Ridling was able to take the job at that pay because he was a retired insurance executive, he said.

Medicaid Commissioner Azar and Revenue Commissioner Magee referred questions about their salaries to the governor's office. Byard did not return a message left at his office.

The Senate passed the bill 29-0 last year, while the House passed it 93-5.

In all, 14 members of Bentley's cabinet received raises under the new salary plan, according to Inside Alabama Politics.

A number of Bentley's staff members also received raises, including six who received raises ranging from $21,000 to $34,000 a year.

Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, chairman of the Senate's General Fund committee, said the cabinet members who received the raises do a good job, but the raises come at a time when the Legislature faces tough choices on the budget.

"Obviously the timing would raise a question," Pittman said.

Funding for the Alabama Medicaid Agency is the biggest challenge facing lawmakers. Bentley requested a $100 million increase for the agency next year.

The budget pending in the Legislature provides only a $15 million increase.

Bentley has said he will veto a budget that does not meet the Medicaid request and will call a special session if necessary.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the budget on Tuesday.

Updated at 9:55 a.m. on March 15 to add comments from Sen. Arthur Orr. Updated at 10:30 a.m. to add comments from Sen. Greg Albritton. Updated at 2:30 p.m. to add more comments from Orr.

