A $20,000 salary hike might cost state lawmakers their side hustles as Albany Democrats look to hold a special legislative session next week to raise their own pay despite criticism about how it might play with ordinary New Yorkers.

State lawmakers could reconvene as soon as next Thursday to increase their taxpayer-funded salaries from $110,000 to $130,000 per year while limiting their moonlighting to roughly $20,000 total, an Albany source told The Post Friday.

“Like everyone else, we’ve all been hit by inflation and other costs. So I’m for a pay raise and I also think it’s fine to not allow outside income,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan).

But Republicans say a special session on pay would just show Democrats are more concerned about their own bottom lines than dealing with challenges like increasing costs of living and rising crime despite calls for action in recent months.

“It’s hard to believe a pay raise is going to be well-received by New Yorkers. In an average year it’s a tough sell. But in a year when inflation has been crushing everyone? The optics can’t be ignored,” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Fulton) said.

“I find it patently absurd that we would be called back for a special session to give politicians a pay raise, in the middle of a recession, without doing anything to fix the disastrous cashless bail law,” said outgoing Assemblyman Michael Lawler (R-Rockland), who was among the New York Republicans who scored surprise wins in congressional races last month.

“It tells you everything about the priorities of New York’s Democratic Party. Clearly they learned nothing from the November elections,” the soon-to-be congressman added.

New York legislators are the second-highest-paid in the nation — California state legislators are paid $119,702 per year — though current salaries for the New York state Senate and Assembly are $38,500 less than the $148,500 paid to Big Apple City Council members.

A 2018 commission empowered by the state Legislature secured salary bumps from $80,000 to $110,000, with plans for another $20,000 bump that eventually got tossed by the courts alongside restrictions on outside income.

Past scandals have highlighted how side gigs like legal work have helped elected officials like longtime Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was eventually convicted on federal corruption charges, to abuse the public trust.

But some Democrats and Republicans say work outside the Legislature keeps its members grounded in the real world.

“I’m a pharmacist, the majority of people like the fact that I have one foot in the private sector and one foot in the public sector,” said John McDonald III (D-Albany).

“You always hear people bristle at the notion of ‘career politicians.’ When you eliminate the ability of representatives to work outside the Legislature, that’s exactly what you’re getting,” Barclay said.

The state Senate and Assembly meet for the first six months of the year, but that does not mean that serving in either chamber does not keep them busy throughout the year, according to legislators.

“Our job extends beyond working on the budget and passing legislation. We have major responsibilities here in our districts to help our constituents with many issues and you’d be surprised at what people ask of us,” Rosenthal said.

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have not said publicly whether a special session will happen next week, though Heastie recently expressed support for a raise in principle.

One concern for legislative leaders is whether they could limit any special session to only the issue of pay and outside income considering how some members of the state Senate and Assembly might want to see action on other issues as well.

“I support a pay raise with outside income ban,” state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) said.

“I hope I can count on my colleagues who vote for a raise for ourselves to quickly move to support my bill to raise the minimum wage,” she added.

Acting before the end of December on pay raises would ensure they could take effect in January rather than in 2025 due to state rules restricting lawmakers from raising their own pay before facing voters.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday state lawmakers ought to limit outside income if they do come back to Albany next week to approve pay increase, which she could veto.

“That seems to be, if you’re having a pay increase, that that would be something that I would think — in the interest of transparency and accountability — that people would expect,” the governor said.