85R14720 CAE-F

By: Schofield, Zerwas H.B. No. 3971

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3971:

By: Schofield C.S.H.B. No. 3971

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the method used to calculate the salary of a state judge.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 659.012(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Notwithstanding Section 659.011:

(1) a judge of a district court is entitled to an annual salary from the state that is equal to 82.5 percent of the salary of a justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice [of at least $125,000], except that the combined salary of a district judge from state and county sources, including compensation for any extrajudicial services performed on behalf of the county, may not exceed the amount that is $5,000 less than the salary provided for a justice of a court of appeals other than a chief justice;

(2) a justice of a court of appeals other than the chief justice is entitled to an annual salary from the state that is equal to 91 [110] percent of the salary of a justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice [district judge], except that the combined salary of a justice of the court of appeals other than the chief justice from all state and county sources, including compensation for any extrajudicial services performed on behalf of the county, may not exceed the amount that is $5,000 less than the salary provided for a justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice;

(3) a justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice or a judge of the court of criminal appeals other than the presiding judge is entitled to an annual salary from the state that is the amount as determined by Section 659.0121 [equal to 120 percent of the salary of a district judge]; and

(4) the chief justice or presiding judge of an appellate court is entitled to an annual salary from the state that is $2,500 more than the salary provided for the other justices or judges of the court, except that the combined salary of the chief justice of a court of appeals may not exceed the amount that is $2,500 less than the salary provided for a justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice.

SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 659, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 659.0121 to read as follows:

Sec. 659.0121. DETERMINATION OF JUDICIAL SALARIES. (a) The salary of a justice of the supreme court other than the chief justice is equal to the sum of:

(1) one-third of the average salary on January 1 of justices, other than chief justices, on the highest appellate courts of the nine most populous states as determined by the decennial census, not including Texas;

(2) one-third of the salary on January 1 of a judge of a United States Court of Appeals; and

(3) one-third of the average starting base salary on January 1 of first-year associate attorneys employed in this state with the five private law firms with the largest number of attorneys licensed in this state.

(b) The Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System shall collect and provide to the Legislative Budget Board the information required by Subsections (a)(1) and (2) not later than February 1 of each year.

(c) The State Bar of Texas shall collect and provide to the Legislative Budget Board the information required by Subsection (a)(3) not later than February 1 of each year.

(d) The Legislative Budget Board shall calculate the salary under Subsection (a) based on the information collected and provided to the board under Subsection (b) and provide the amount to the comptroller not later than March 1 of each year.

(e) On October 1 of each year, the comptroller shall adjust all salaries paid by the state under Section 659.012 based on the amount provided by the Legislative Budget Board under Subsection (d).

(f) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the adjusted salary under Subsection (e) may not increase by more than four percent per year or by the inflation rate during the previous calendar year, as determined by the comptroller on the basis of changes in the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, whichever is higher.

(g) Not later than May 1 of each year, the comptroller shall publish in the Texas Register a list of all salaries to be paid under Section 659.012 beginning on the following October 1.

SECTION 3. Chapter 35, Government Code, is repealed effective August 31, 2021.

SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.