State Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D-District 9) proposed a 7 percent pay raisefor state employees and government professionals Wednesday.
"We have the leanest, most efficient state work force among the 50 states," Vasilinda said. "They're already paid the lowest, and then they haven't gotten a raise in six years."
This is wrong, she said. The move would keep Florida competitive from an ethical and economic standpoint.
Funding for these raises would come from the current budget surplus as well as from collecting taxes more efficiently, Vasilinda said.
Still, the bill faces steep odds in a Republican-controlled legislature.
Vasilinda said state employees and government employees work to make sure the air is clean, the water is clean, children are protected and food is inspected.
"They deserve to get a raise in doing these jobs," she said.
An official from State Rep. Keith Perry's (R-District 21) office said that Kerry preferred not to address the bill before it was referred to a committee.