More than 200 legislative staff members have received pay increases during this year of multibillion-dollar deficits, program cuts and the longest budget standoff in state history.

The Legislature did not award across-the-board pay hikes, but 179 Assembly and at least 35 Senate aides quietly received raises, a comparison of first- and fourth-quarter rosters shows.

Pay jumped for an additional 105 legislative staffers because they received promotions in which their job titles changed.

The vast majority of Capitol employees, about 85 percent, received neither a promotion nor a pay hike this year.

But Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said it's "pretty tough to justify" salary hikes to even a small percentage of staffers during a fiscal crisis.

"If they're the captains of the ship, it's a ship without a rudder," Coupal said.

Roughly one-third of the salary increases went to employees earning less than $40,000 annually – but at the other extreme, 41 of the raises went to employees earning more than $80,000, including 16 making $100,000 or more.

Of the 214 pay increases, 118 exceeded 5 percent; 67 equaled 5 percent; and 29 were lower than 5 percent. The highest percentage hikes tended to go to workers low on the pay scale.

Jon Waldie, Assembly administrator, said lawmakers evaluate staff members individually and that extenuating circumstances sometimes exist that aren't necessarily reflected in this year's rosters.

A one-year comparison does not show how consistently a person's pay has risen in past years, for example, or whether an offer was made in a last-ditch attempt to retain an aide who had received another job opportunity, Waldie said.

Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, said he raised the pay of some aides because they assumed extra duties, or because their roles changed when Lieu became chairman of the powerful Assembly Rules Committee.

"Whatever the explanation is, there are very few, if any, offices that I'm aware of where members are simply going, 'Oh, it's been 12 months – give them a 5 percent pay increase,' " Waldie said.

The Assembly granted pay increases to 15 percent of its staff and promotions to an additional 4 percent, rosters showed.

The Senate apparently was tighter, granting pay hikes to 4 percent of its staff and promotions to 6 percent between March 15 and Nov. 1. Records for January and February were not readily available.

Larry Gerston, political science professor at San Jose State University, said granting salary increases during a budget crisis is bound to give lawmakers a black eye, regardless of the rationale.

"Maybe they're not even doing anything wrong – but it's the perception," he said. "You just don't want to give people another reason to think unkindly about you at a time when you can use all the friends that you can get."

Lew Uhler, president of the National Tax Limitation Committee, said lawmakers need to demonstrate that they're willing to share the state's financial pain, perhaps cut their own salaries, not bolster the paychecks of aides.

"I'm surprised by nothing the Legislature does," Uhler said. "But I nevertheless continue to be shocked at the insensitivity."

California lawmakers already are fighting an approval rating that hit a record-low 15 percent during this year's 85-day budget standoff, according to a Field Poll released Sept. 12.

Termed-out Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who chaired the Appropriations Committee, granted more than a dozen staff members salary increases this year.

"Each staff person is considered on individual merits and situations," he said.

Leno said that some aides were relatively new to the Legislature and hired at very low salaries, while some veterans were consulted by the speaker's office above and beyond their regular duties.

"We're not talking about (rich wage earners)," Leno said. "These are middle-class folks who dedicate their life to public service."

But Coupal said legislative aides should not need pay hikes to be happy at a time when state unemployment is above 8 percent.

"I think the message needs to be, 'Hey folks, I have great news: You're able to keep your job,' " Coupal said.

The Legislature employed more than 2,100 people in November, offering a wide range of salaries and duties, from secretary and office assistant to senior consultant or chief of staff.

Atop the pay scale, 280 employees receive salaries of $100,000 or more – 157 in the Senate and 123 in the Assembly, records show.

Numerous aides are paid higher than the $116,208 base salary of a legislator, not counting about $35,000 in per diem to defray officeholder living expenses while in Sacramento.

The vast majority of California's other state workers did not receive a pay hike this year, although many employees with just a few years on the job were in line for modest step increases, said Lynelle Jolley of the Department of Personnel Administration.

Last year, legislative employees received a 6 percent pay hike, but it was effective in February for Senate employees and nine months later for Assembly aides.

Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.