A recent Cover Story by Colorado Politics on the financial challenges faced by some members of our General Assembly appears to start a dialogue toward the conclusion legislators deserve to be paid more. I am happy to join that dialogue.

Not one penny more. Zero.

It is not that I am completely unsympathetic to those whose career and life choices have left them in a financial position to have to work multiple jobs while voluntarily serving in a public service position for which they competed. I am almost completely unsympathetic.

First, the real amount of the money matters. For any legislator 50 miles from the Capitol, there is a per diem of $237 for every day of the 120-day legislative session… in addition to the nearly $44,000 in salary. My public school math skills tell me that is more than $72,000 per year. That is slightly more than the median income for single-earner households in Colorado according to Colorado Politics reporting of U.S. Census Bureau numbers. That is more than the average salary of Colorado’s teachers – who teach more than 120 days per year. Specifically, an average Weld County legislator makes $20,000 more than the average Weld County District 6 elementary school teacher.

Denver legislators do not enjoy the per diem, but they do get the benefit of living in their own homes and the ease of travel afforded by either their own e-cars, bikes or an RTD system with a 2023 operating budget of more than $816 million.

When the result of an election is the highest paid job a candidate has ever had, the public should expect gratitude, not a request for a pay raise. It is difficult to find sympathy for a politician’s claim to a higher taxpayer-funded salary when their legislative job eclipses their prior career as a DoorDash driver.

For those legislators who are quick to remind Coloradans “they work much more than a 120-day legislative session,” I can already hear the refrain from teachers, office workers, health care staff and on and on – that they each work far more than the hours for which they are compensated. Many of them make less than legislators.

As a justification for increased pay, expect Democrat legislators to propose extending the legislative session to justify more salary and more per diem. Here, I agree with their analysis, but I come to the opposite conclusion. If $44,000 is too little to compensate for 120 days of vigorous legislative work – let us reduce the length of the legislative session. Cut the session in half – to just 60 days. We will not even cut a dime from their current salary.

It likely will be impossible to handle the more than 600 bills offered each year by 100 legislators who are permitted five bills each session (yes, the math does not work out). The answer is to reduce their workload in those 60 days. Two bills. No more. By limiting each legislator to two bills, their workload can be more easily accomplished in their new, shortened session. Again, keep the salaries as is.

Stay up to speed: Sign-up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

To be clear, it is not just the elected politicians under the Gold Dome who benefit from lower expectations and less work for the same pay; Colorado benefits when we pay legislators to pass less laws over us. Since 2013, legislators have offered more than 7,100 bills. Those are spit-take numbers to read. Whatever ails Colorado or Coloradans, the addition or amendment of thousands of laws in a single decade cannot be the answer. With two bills each year (that’s 200 potential new laws), legislators would be forced to choose the most pressing and important bills to their communities and not waste precious time and resources on highly controversial, unpopular “messaging” bills.

In a year or two, we can honor legislators’ hard work and inflation-ravaged $44,000 salary by moving to an every-other-year, 60-day session, cutting in half again the number of politicians’ ideas – er, bills – visited upon us.

This would require an amendment to our state Constitution. We could not count on politicians to place on the ballot something that reduces their influence over our lives, so we will need to petition it onto the ballot. Hello, Advance Colorado? Michael Fields? Bueller?

The only downside of this common-sense, Colorado-saving approach is we cannot apply it to Congress. Imagine the spring-like feeling of knowing Congress was in session for only 60 days each year. Also, keep the salary; just please do less – if that is even possible at this point.

Those who see government as the answer to whatever social ills they see lurking around every corner will dismiss this approach as coming from those who fail to not recognize how smart and caring and special legislators are and how they just want to do good. Guilty as charged.

Lest we or they forget, service in these public positions is not compelled. Don’t like the pay and per diem and the PERA retirement and the demands on time? Resign. It would be refreshing.

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow at the Common Sense Institute and president of the Advance Colorado Academy, which identifies, trains and connects conservative leaders in Colorado. He hosts “The George Brauchler Show” on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.