Is it true that state workers in Florida have not received a raised in six years?
For the most part, PolitiFact Florida says yes.
The pre-legislative session chatter out of Tallahassee is a little different this year because there's an anticipated budget surplus. There is actually talk of upping budgets, raising teacher salaries and giving state workers a bonus.
Those items are in Gov. Rick Scott's $74 billion budget, but some state legislators want to do even more.
Democratic Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda of Tallahassee has filed a bill that would give all state employees seven percent raises. She told the Tallahassee Democrat, "Those people haven't seen raises in six years."
PolitiFact Florida says, if you're talking about across-the-board raises, it is true that state workers have not had a raise is six years.
"Across the board" is an important distinction. A few state agencies have given pay raises within their departments since 2006, said DMS spokesman Ben Wolf. The Florida Highway Patrol implemented a 5 percent pay increase in 2008, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission issued a 3 percent raise for its law enforcement officers on Jan. 1, 2011, he said. Other individual employees have received pay increases since 2006 for exemplary performance."
