This bill revises and expands provisions relating to compensation of members of county legislative bodies.
Under present law, counties are authorized to fix the compensation of their membership in attending sessions of the county legislative body and duly authorized committees thereof. However, present law sets a minimum per diem pay schedule based on county size/class, ranging from a minimum of $35.00 a day for counties of the third class to a minimum of $20.00 for counties of the eighth class. The present law minimum compensation provisions do not address counties of the first class (which are counties with a population of 400,000 or more, which, currently, are Knox, Davidson, and Shelby counties) or counties of the second class (which are counties with a population of at least 150,000 but less than 400,000, which currently are Sullivan, Sumner, Montgomery, Williamson, Rutherford, and Hamilton counties). Also, present law provides that in Hamilton County, upon resolution adopted by two-thirds vote of the legislative body, the county legislative body will fix the salary of the members of the county legislative body, and, once fixed, adjust the salary to reflect the same percentage increase that the county mayor is to receive.
In regard to the counties under the schedule under present law, the amount provided in the per diem schedule, or a greater amount provided by resolution duly adopted by the county legislative body, must be paid to the members for each day's attendance at meetings of the body or any duly authorized committee thereof, or a greater amount provided by resolution duly adopted by the county legislative body must be paid as a stated salary per month. This bill rewrites this provision to instead provide that a county may adopt a resolution to pay members of the legislative body:

(1) An amount greater than the minimum daily compensation for attendance at meetings of the body as provided in the per diem schedule, or at committee meetings for which the member is an appointed member;
(2) A base salary; or
(3) A base salary and an amount greater than or equal to the minimum daily compensation for attendance at meetings of the body as provided in the per diem schedule, or at committee meetings for which the member is an appointed member.
Present law sets the compensation for attending committee meetings at 1/2 of the compensation paid for attending regular sessions of the legislative body. This bill adds that a county opting to pay members under the provisions described in (3) may set the compensation rate for attendance at committee meetings of the legislative body.
This bill prohibits the implementation of any increase in compensation for members of the county legislative body until the beginning of the term following the next election of the county commissioners after the resolution increasing the compensation is adopted.