The winner of the 2014 Dallas County Sheriff’s race will receive a $15,000 bump in pay after the Alabama Legislature approved a piece of local legislation.

The bill, sponsored by State Rep. David Colston, D-Hayneville, passed unanimously.

Harris Huffman currently serves as the Dallas County Sheriff and is running for re-election as a Democrat. Local pastor Lee Green, who works for the Department of Youth Services, is also running as a Democrat. The two will meet each in the Democrat primary Tuesday, June 3.

With its passage, the sheriff’s pay rate will increase to $80,000 from $65,000 currently.

State Rep. Darrio Melton, D-Selma, said the bill was specifically designed to make the Dallas County Sheriff’s pay rate similar to surrounding counties.

“I talked with the sheriff and probate judge about the pay rate and they wanted to make it similar to surrounding counties, who may cover the same or a smaller area but earn more per year,” Melton said.

The raise will be paid for through the Dallas County Commission’s budget, starting immediately with the election of the next sheriff.

In a previous interview with the Times-Journal, Dallas County Probate Judge Kim Ballard said the raise was also connected to the size of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department in relation to other counties.

“Surrounding sheriffs who have smaller departments, with smaller jails, smaller budgets and less population are making between $10,000 to $20,000 more than what the Dallas County Sheriff gets,” Ballard said. “The raise would put us right there with other counties in terms of pay rate.”

Many local, county decisions, such as the salary for sheriff, must come through the Legislature in the form of a local bill.

It must also be publicly advertised and make it through a legislative committee. If one legislator disagrees with the local bill, it becomes a statewide referendum. Melton said the bill passed both the State House and Senate without issue.