Saratov deputies started with themselves – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

The deputies of the new convocation of the Saratov Regional Duma proposed to increase the number of paid positions by one and a half times: if in the previous composition there were 12 parliamentarians, now there will be 17 of them. Representatives of five of the six factions formed following the elections came up with this idea. On average, one Saratov people’s choice receives about 190 thousand rubles. monthly.

The Saratov Regional Duma Committee on State Construction and Local Self-Government on Tuesday recommended the adoption of amendments to the regional law “On the status of a deputy.” The initiative was made by deputies Alexei Antonov (United Russia), Alexander Anidalov (KPRF), Dmitry Pyanykh (LDPR), Artem Chebotarev (Fair Russia – For Truth) and Alexander Vantsov (Motherland). They represent five of the six parties that made it to parliament in the September 9-11 elections. Among the authors was not only a deputy from the “New People”.

According to the bill, the number of deputies receiving a salary from the budget will be increased from 12 to 17 people. The text of the document has not yet been published. In the Regional Duma, Kommersant explained that the proposal was due to “changes that have taken place in the structure of the regional parliament.” The new convocation will have nine committees instead of seven. The committees on state construction and local self-government, on budget and taxes, on sports, on construction and housing and communal services, and agrarian ones are preserved.

A committee on information policy appears, the committee on culture is transformed into a committee on education and culture, instead of a committee on economics, a committee on industry and investment policy.

How much additional funds from the budget will be needed is still unknown. On average, the salary of a deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma is about 190 thousand rubles. per month. Several deputies who worked on a permanent basis in the Duma of the previous convocation declared about 2.3 million rubles at the end of 2021. The amendments will be submitted to Parliament on Wednesday, 28 September.

It should be noted that in the last convocation there were 45 deputies, that is, almost every fourth received a salary. After the reform of the electoral model of the regional Duma (the number of single-mandate constituencies increased from 22 to 30, and the number of mandates distributed according to party lists decreased from 23 to 10), only 40 people were elected to the new convocation, so almost every second person will receive money from the budget.

Two years ago, the Regional Duma already tried to increase the number of parliamentarians working on a professional basis from 12 to 13 people. Then the author of the bill was the deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party Stanislav Denisenko, who explained this idea by “improving law-making activities.” However, in the end, she was rejected.

The Liberal Democrat put forward even more radical initiatives, for example, he proposed to pay salaries to all deputies, but in the amount of the average for the region, “so that deputies were interested in raising the average salary for citizens.”

It is also noteworthy that one of the authors of the current bill, communist Alexander Anidalov, in the previous convocation was deprived of a paid position by decision of the credentials committee. Then he was punished for trying to prevent the renaming of Kirov Street into Stolypin Street. In the Duma of the new convocation, Mr. Anidalov will most likely return his salary, since he headed the committee on industry and investment policy.

Alexander Anidalov himself says that having a salary has never been an instrument of pressure on him or the Communist Party. “The criterion of truth is practice, and it says that the fact that for the last six months I have not received a salary in the regional Duma has no effect on my words and actions. I still said what I considered necessary, and voted as the faction decided, ”he explained to Kommersant. The faction of the Communist Party is in favor of ensuring that all deputies receive a salary, the communist summed up. According to him, this will exclude the presence in the Legislative Assembly of people who “do not work and do not put forward initiatives.”

Political scientist Alexander Panteleev believes that the increase in the number of deputies receiving salaries is explained by the increase in party representation: in the last convocation there were four factions in the regional duma. “I think that representatives of EP will receive most of the additional paid rates, but nevertheless, representatives of other parties will also get something. There is a good salary, the work is interesting. The second reason is that you need to arrange specific people, ”the expert suggests. At the same time, he doubted that the Duma would become more loyal to the executive branch, since it “constantly supports the proposals of the regional administration.”

Marina Kovaleva, Saratov