As a concept, and ignoring for the moment some of the bargain’s more troubling aspects, the Albany pay-raise commission struck a wholesome agreement: New York State legislators will get their first raises in 20 years in exchange for limits on outside income and an end to the profligate system of stipends that now increase the base salary of most legislators and make them beholden to the leadership that grants them.

But troubling aspects there are. For one, with raises topping out at 63 percent, the deal would make New York legislators the highest paid in the country, far outstripping California’s salaries of $107,240. It costs far more to live in New York City than in Buffalo, but even accounting for those differences, the increases seem exorbitant.

To be sure, two decades is a long time to go without a raise, and while the current base salary of $79,500 is hardly unhealthy — especially given that lawmakers are in session only five months of the year — its buying power has certainly eroded. And, yes, the pay was less generous relative to the downstate economy.

Still, lawmakers were the source of their own financial misery, demonstrating over and over that they had done nothing to merit a raise. For decades, the state budget was chronically late — sometimes by months — inflicting harm on school districts, municipalities and others that rely on state funding. Worse, legislators turned a blind eye to corruption through policies that encouraged conflicts of interest and even criminality. In no way did they deserve a raise.

But since the election of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in 2010, the budget has usually been on time and, when it has been late, only by a matter of hours. Now, with the pay raise committee demanding limits on outside income and slashing stipends, the raises — which are significant — are at least plausible.

The pay hikes would be phased in over three years, assuming lawmakers accept the package. In January, they would jump to $110,000, providing an immediate raise of 38 percent. Legislators would then get successive bumps of $10,000 in each of the following two years, winding up at $130,000, for a total increase of 63 percent. That is, in a word, huge, and defensible only in conjunction with the other changes the committee has required.

On that score, the plan would eliminate the stipends for all except some top officials, such as the Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader. And, hewing to standards applied to members of Congress, outside income would be limited to 15 percent of legislators’ pay. That is both reasonable and appropriate. Some income, including legal work with clients, would be flatly prohibited.

The same goes for other officials who will likely see their salaries rise, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, whose income over three years would rise to $250,000, also the nation’s highest. Then, again, Cuomo gets credit for demanding reforms to go along with the raises.

It’s possible that lawmakers will resist the income limits and loss of stipends, but they shouldn’t. The job of a state legislator is complex and consuming; it needs to be their main source of income, both to compensate them fairly and to restrict conflicts of interest and the temptation to criminality, such as former Speaker Sheldon Silver engaged in by way of clients in his law practice.

For legislators who don’t like the deal, there is an honorable option: Step away from public life with its necessarily intrusive requirements. Others, we are sure, will be willing to take their place.

It is also possible that the commission’s legal right to offer raises and insist upon restrictions will be challenged in court. That, too, is within lawmakers’ rights, but they should remember that their constituents have rights and expectations, too.

Chief among them is the right to expect that their State Legislature is operating on their behalf and that their representatives are not using their public offices to line their own pockets unethically. Unfortunately, in this state, one of the most corrupt in the nation, voters have no reason to expect that. This deal will help.

If they are wise, lawmakers will take the deal, brag to their constituents about it, and get on with the business of governing.