Alabama Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Green Hill, is trying again this year to get a pay raise for Alabama troopers and others within the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
Last year, after the Alabama Department of Corrections gave a significant pay raise in an effort to recruit and keep correctional officers, Pettus brought a bill increasing troopers’ pay. It did not pass.
This year, Pettus’ House Bill 1 outlines salary step placements for troopers, including those in training, as well as sergeants, lieutenants and captains in the Department of Public Safety, a division of ALEA.
Pettus told Alabama Daily News he plans to amend the pre-filed bill to incorporate State Bureau of Investigation officers.
“My bill (last year) just raised the (troopers’ pay),” Pettus said about the difference in this year’s approach. “ALEA has more than just troopers.”
A comment from ALEA about the bill was not available.
Troopers in Alabama rank last in the Southeast, earning under $70,000 annually, while a Tennessee trooper can earn up to $90,000, Pettus said.
“To get more in line with the Southeastern average, we are trying to work with them (ALEA) to get them up to the standards,” said Pettus regarding the salary discrepancies in the surrounding region.
Under Pettus’ proposal, a trooper trainee would earn a minimum of $51,727, according to pay scale information from the Alabama Personnel Department. A trooper’s minimum pay would be nearly $57,000; maximum salary would be $95,800.
According to personnel, a trooper trainee with a high school diploma now has a starting salary of $55,615. A trooper trainee with a two-year degree can start at $56,971.20. Those with a four-year degree can earn $58,404.
Pettus, a former trooper, has previously said ALEA competes with county and city law enforcement agencies for potential officers.
State law enforcement officers were at the scene of 31,717 crashes in the past year, ALEA said recently.
The legislative session starts Feb. 6.