Will GOP lawmakers sacrifice hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay in office?

Despite a recent state court ruling upholding a limit on outside income for legislators, state Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said on Wednesday not to expect any immediate resignations of his members. 

When state lawmakers approved their own pay raise in 2022, they also included a $35,000 limit on outside income, set to take effect at the start of this year. But Republican lawmakers, who make up the majority of members impacted by the new rule, sued to block the limit last year in state court. The judge in that case initially paused the rules around outside income as the case progressed, and they did not take effect in January as originally planned. 

But the state judge made a final decision earlier this month, ruling that the outside income limit is in fact constitutional. That now places members who draw big paychecks outside of their legislative work in a bind – leave office, or give up their lucrative other jobs. 

Ortt wrote in an affidavit asking for a stay on enforcement until 2027 that as many as 12 of his members – as well as 26 members of the Assembly minority – stand to be impacted by the ruling. But he told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday that no one is packing their bags just yet as they are awaiting further “clarity” about how the law will be enforced. “So until we have answers to all that, and more clarity, I don't think anyone should leave,” Ortt said. “And no one has told me they are leaving.”

Ortt said that they are pursuing their legal options, and lawyers representing the Republicans who sued last year have already filed an appeal, which means that it will now head to a state appellate court. Even if the outside income limit is upheld in court, though, Ortt expressed confidence that the state Senate won’t see an exodus of Republicans. “I can tell you, in our conference, every single person that would be impacted, might be impacted, wants to remain,” Ortt said. 

But some of those members have a lot they stand to lose. State Sen. Jack Martins, for example, makes between $350,000 and $450,000 as a partner at white shoe law firm Harris Beach, according to his most recent financial disclosure filed with the state. That’s more than double his legislative salary of $142,000. Rumors had circulated last year that he even considered not running for reelection due to the outside income limit, though he obviously both ran and won. And at the time of his reelection, a judge had paused the income limit. Martins did not return a request for comment about the new ruling and how he will respond to it.

State Sen. Andrew Lanza stands to lose even more. According to his more recent financial disclosure, he made between $450,000 and $550,000 as an attorney with the law firm Lucarelli and Castaldi. In the lower chamber, Assembly Member Keith Brown makes between $650,000 and $750,000 as a partner at his own law firm.

Although Republicans brought the lawsuit, and make up the majority of legislators who have outside income above the limit, some Democrats will have to make a decision as well. Assembly Member David Weprin, for example, brings in between $100,000 and $150,000 as an attorney outside the Legislature.