Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB438 by Schofield (Relating to the annual base salary from the state of a district judge.), As Introduced
COST ESTIMATE
The bill would add a cost-of-living adjustment to the annual base salary of a district court judge. The new annual base salary for the biennium would be equal to the annual base salary for the preceding biennium plus the product of that base and the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) or a similar metric during the previous two years. The alternative multiplier would be created by the Comptroller Of Public Accounts if the CPI-U index is discontinued. If the percentage change is negative, the change would be considered zero.
Salaries and retirement benefits for many other judicial positions and elected class members of the Employees Retirement System (ERS) are currently calculated in reference to the annual base salary for a district judge or justice.
According to the analysis, the current actuarial valuation assumption for judicial base pay increases and the associated increases in elected class annuities accounts for an increase with inflation (as measured with the CPI-U), therefore there would be no impact to ERS or the Judicial Retirement System - Plan Two.
SOURCES Actuarial Analysis from R. Ryan Falls, FSA, EA, MAAA, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company, March 10, 2023.