Palin to refuse proposed $25K pay hike

JUNEAU, Alaska, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she would refuse a $25,000 pay raise during her current term as Alaska governor.

A state commission recommended boosting the governor's pay to $150,000 from $125,000.

The five-member state Officers Compensation Commission, created by the state Legislature, also said legislators needed more money, along with the lieutenant governor and government department heads, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

If the commission pushes ahead with a pay raise, Palin will not accept the money, spokesman Bill McAllister said.

"Her view is, it's just not appropriate to accept a pay raise in the middle of the term," he told the newspaper.

Palin's term ends in 2010.

Palin makes 46 percent more than her most recent predecessor, Frank Murkowski, but is the 24th-lowest paid governor, the commission said.