SALEM, Ore. -- State legislators are looking into how to get the public behind their hopes for a pay raise -- such as closing loopholes in how lawmakers use campaign money for office and personal use.

Legislators have historically used the money campaign contributors give them for expenses that have nothing to do with winning elections: awards night dinners, apartment rent during sessions, or gas money for trips home after a week in Salem.

Sen. Kate Brown, D-Portland, said if lawmakers are to win public support for a salary increase, they'll have to close such loopholes.

"I see it as being tied to our salary issue," Brown, who is running for secretary of state and will not return to the Legislature, told the Eugene Register-Guard.

Oregon legislators are paid $19,884. The House speaker and Senate president salaries are double that. Lawmakers also receive a per diem of $109 when called to legislative service. Last session, legislators were allotted $30,409 for staff, postage, copying and other office expenses.

The Public Commission on the Legislature two years ago recommended an array of reforms.

The Legislature moved ahead on several recommendations, including a $34 million renovation of the Capitol. Legislators also experimented with holding sessions every year, and passed ethics reforms that ban lawmakers from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

Oregon Law Commission Chairman Lane Shetterly said it makes sense, as lawmakers move toward meeting annually, that they would look to bring the pay to a level that would match the full-time workload and attract quality candidates. That means ending the historical practices that have helped pay for lawmakers' costs.

"We should be paying elected officials, public officials, fair compensation and fair reimbursement for office-related expenses so they don't have to use campaign funds," said Shetterly, a Republican who formerly served in the House.

But boosting legislator pay and closing loopholes on how campaign cash gets used proved too politically dicey for lawmakers to reach consensus in 2007. It could be just as tough to tackle when the next session takes place in 2009.

Senate GOP Leader Ted Ferrioli of John Day questioned the need for restrictions on campaign dollars to cover costs that would otherwise fall to taxpayers. He said it makes more sense for a legislative candidate's campaign printer to pull double duty in a legislative office than to be shelved while a taxpayer-funded printer is put to use.

While lawmakers plan to spend the rest of the year working on proposals to restrict how campaign dollars get used, a separate panel is looking at the salary issue.

Chairwoman Doris Johnson said the Public Officials Compensation Commission started its effort last week by interviewing lawmakers and comparing Oregon's pay with that for legislators in nine other states. She said it is too early to say what pay levels would be recommended.

The commission was charged by the 2007 Legislature with recommending salaries for consideration in 2009 for legislators, state judges and statewide elected officials.