Compromise State Employee Bonus Bill Passes Committee

     PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A bill on bonus pay for state employees will
move to the Senate floor after a compromise added ceiling and floor
caps.
     Friday's proposal includes aspects of a plan put forth by Gov.
Dennis Daugaard's office and one from Sioux Falls Republican Rep.
Gene Abdallah.
     Under the amended bill, all workers earning $46,000 or below
would earn a bonus based on that amount, and no bonus could exceed
a calculation based on a $150,000 per year salary.
     Those who have worked one year at their state jobs would get 1.7
percent of their salaries. Two years would get 3.4 percent and
three years would get 5 percent of their salaries.
     The one-time bonuses would be distributed on March 30.
     The Senate appropriations committee voted 9-0 for the bill.