The new position came at the behest of new House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, who told reporters Wednesday that it was important for him to expand the 99-member House’s leadership team.
“Ohio is one state that has the fewest leadership positions (in its legislature),” Huffman told reporters Wednesday. “In fact, even with the ones we have now, we’re below average in terms of number of leadership positions.”
Plummer was voted into the position by his peers in January. On Wednesday, he abstained from the vote that would raise his pay.
When reached for comment Wednesday, Plummer directed this outlet to Huffman. “The Speaker will address it. It’s his program,” he said.
Aside from creating the assistant speaker pro tempore position, Huffman doubled the number of House majority whips from two to four. The bill passed Wednesday reflects the pay appropriations for those new leadership positions, too.
Under the new setup, the assistant speaker pro tempore is third-in-command in the Republican leadership structure, following the House Speaker and the Speaker Pro Tempore.
General members of the House and Senate will receive a base salary of $72,343 in 2025. Ohio law then grants members extra stipends for extra responsibilities: committee chairs receive $9,000 while committee vice-chairs and ranking members receive $6,750.
Leadership positions work similarly. Here’s the House’s new 2025 pay structure, according to the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Commission.
- House Speaker: $112,767
- Speaker Pro Tempore: $102,890
- Minority Leader: $102,890
- Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore: $99,904
- Majority Floor Leader: $96,917
- Assistant Minority Leader: $93,938
- Assistant Majority Floor Leader: $90,954
- Majority Whip (Four members): $84,988
- Minority Whip: $84,988
- Assistant Minority Whip: $75,683
- General member: $72,343
The pay, allocated through House Bill 54, was approved unanimously by the Senate and near-unanimously in the House Wednesday. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk for final approval.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
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