In a report Tuesday to the main budget committee, the Legislative Compensation Commission recommended lawmakers give themselves a 7.7 percent pay increase.

That breaks down to a $10 raise - from $130 to $140 - for each day a lawmaker attends sessions and other meetings.

The increase would lift Utah from seventh to sixth place for lawmaker pay among the 11 Western states.

The commission, however, stopped short of recommending an increase in expense payments for lawmakers who must travel to the Capitol from outside the Wasatch Front. That should be left up to legislative leaders, it decided.

Susan Lawrence, vice chairwoman of the Compensation Commission and a former House member, said leaders should keep in mind that Utah, unlike some states, has a "citizen legislature."

Reimbursing lawmakers for their time and travel, even those who live in distant rural areas, "could turn this into a full-time job," Lawrence said. "That would defeat the purpose of a lay legislature."

- Glen Warchol