The Massachusetts Legislature is off to another traditionally slow start, but the pace is not going to cost its future leaders.

State Comptroller William McNamara’s office confirmed to the News Service that the stipends that bulk up legislators’ base salary will be paid retroactively to the Jan. 1 start of the two-year session.

The stipends are attached to Democrat and Republican leadership posts and committee chairmanships and vice chairmanships to reflect the additional work and responsibility associated with those duties. Committee chairs, for instance, are in store for annual stipends of just over $22,430, and vice chair stipends this year are a touch above $7,776. Stipends for scores of other leadership posts are substantially higher.

The additional pay pads the $82,046 base salary for legislators, which rose 11 percent at the start of the year.

But here’s the catch: 33 days after lawmakers were sworn in and elected Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka to lead the branches, Mariano and Spilka have yet to appoint anyone to leadership posts. In many other states, appointments were made weeks ago.

Thousands of bills were filed in January and await committee referrals, but the committees that will review the bills still don’t have any members, and legislators may be nearing an overhaul of their committee system.

Under its recent rules, the Massachusetts Legislature gives itself about 18 months during each two-year session to hold formal sessions where recorded votes may be taken and most controversial matters are handled. Lightly-attended informal sessions dominate the other six months of the session.

Last session, the Legislature again was unable to finish work on its annual budget in time for the July 1 start of the fiscal year, and needed to hammer out other major bills during informal sessions after Democrats delayed key decisions and couldn’t reach accords during a mid-summer scramble.

The News Service asked Mariano and Spilka, through their communications teams, whether the retroactive stipend pay for January is warranted or justified given that leadership and committee appointments haven’t been made.

Mariano spokeswoman Ana Vivas alluded to the work ahead.

“The House will soon vote on House and Joint Rules that will establish legislative committees, in addition to other reforms that will make the legislative process more efficient and more accessible,” Vivas said.

“Shortly after, the Speaker will appoint members of his leadership team, as well as the leadership of the committees, both of which must be ratified by the Democratic Caucus. While the committee process has not yet begun, committee members will review, and issue recommendations on, each bill assigned to them throughout the two-year session, with nearly all bills being filed before appointments are made,” she continued. “We continue to work on a rules proposal, and look forward to releasing it soon.”

Spilka spokesman Gray Milkowski declined to comment.