H. B. 3287
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Manchin,
Caputo, Trump and Walters)
[Introduced March 25, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §50-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §51-1-10a of said code;
to amend and reenact §51-2-13 of said code; and to amend and
reenact §51-2A-6 of said code, all relating generally to the
judiciary; salaries of magistrates; salary of justices; salary
of Supreme Court Justices; salaries of judges of circuit
courts; and salary of family court judges.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §50-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §51-1-10a of said code be amended
and reenacted; that §51-2-13 of said code be amended and reenacted;
and that §51-2A-6 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
CHAPTER 50. MAGISTRATE COURTS.
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-3. Salaries of magistrates.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has held that a salary system for magistrates which is based upon the population
that each magistrate serves does not violate the equal protection
clause of the Constitution of the United States;
(2) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has held that
a salary system for magistrates which is based upon the population
that each magistrate serves does not violate section thirty-nine,
article VI of the Constitution of West Virginia;
(3) The utilization of a two-tiered salary schedule for
magistrates is an equitable and rational manner by which
magistrates should be compensated for work performed;
(4) Organizing the two tiers of the salary schedule into one
tier for magistrates serving less than eight thousand four hundred
in population and the second tier for magistrates serving eight
thousand four hundred or more in population is rational and
equitable given current statistical information relating to
population and caseload; and
(5) That all magistrates who fall under the same tier should
be compensated equally.
(b) The salary of each magistrate shall be paid by the state.
Magistrates who serve fewer than eight thousand four hundred in
population shall be paid annual salaries of thirty thousand six
hundred twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve eight
thousand four hundred or more in population shall be paid annual
salaries of thirty-seven thousand dollars: Provided, That on and
after the first day of July, two thousand three, magistrates who
serve fewer than eight thousand four hundred in population shall be paid annual salaries of thirty-three thousand six hundred
twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve eight thousand four
hundred or more in population shall be paid annual salaries of
forty thousand dollars: Provided, however, That on and after the
first day of July, two thousand six, magistrates who serve fewer
than eight thousand four hundred in population shall be paid annual
salaries of forty thousand dollars and magistrates who serve eight
thousand four hundred or more in population shall be paid annual
salaries of forty-five thousand dollars.
(c) For the purpose of determining the population served by
each magistrate, the number of magistrates authorized for each
county shall be divided into the population of each county. For
the purpose of this article, the population of each county is the
population as determined by the last preceding decennial census
taken under the authority of the United States government.
CHAPTER 51. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS.
§51-1-10a. Salary of justices.
The salary of each of the Justices of the Supreme Court of
Appeals shall be
seventy-two ninety-five thousand dollars per year:
Provided, That beginning the first day of
January July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-five two thousand five, the salary of
each of the Justices of the Supreme Court shall be
eighty-five one
hundred fifty thousand dollars per year.
Provided, however, That
beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
nine, the salary of each of the justices of the supreme court shall be ninety-five thousand dollars per year.
ARTICLE 2. CIRCUIT COURTS; CIRCUIT JUDGES.
§51-2-13. Salaries of judges of circuit courts.
The salaries of the judges of the various circuit courts shall
be paid solely out of the State Treasury. No county, county
commission, board of commissioners or other political subdivision
shall supplement or add to such salaries.
The annual salary of all circuit judges shall be sixty-five
ninety thousand dollars per year: Provided, That beginning the
first day of January July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five
two thousand six, the annual salary of all circuit judges shall be
eighty one hundred thirty-five thousand dollars per year.
Provided, however, That beginning the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, the annual salary of all circuit
judges shall be ninety thousand dollars per year.
ARTICLE 2A. FAMILY COURTS.
§51-2A-6. Compensation and expenses of family court judges and
their staffs.
(a) Until the thirty-first day of December, two thousand two,
a family court judge is entitled to receive as compensation for his
or her services an annual salary of sixty thousand dollars.
Beginning the first day of January, two thousand three, A family
court judge is entitled to receive as compensation for his or her
services an annual salary of sixty-two thousand five hundred
dollars: Provided, That beginning the first day of July, two
thousand five, a family court judge is entitled to receive as compensation for his or her services an annual salary of
ninety-five thousand dollars.
(b) The secretary-clerk of the family court judge is appointed
by the family court judge and serves at his or her will and
pleasure. The secretary-clerk of the family court judge is
entitled to receive an annual salary of twenty-five thousand three
hundred thirty-two dollars. In addition, any person employed as a
secretary-clerk to a family law master on the effective date of the
enactment of this section during the sixth extraordinary session of
the Legislature in the year two thousand one who is receiving an
additional five hundred dollars per year up to ten years of a
certain period of prior employment under the provisions of the
prior enactment of section eight of this article during the second
extraordinary session of the Legislature in the year one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine shall continue to receive such additional
amount. Further, the secretary-clerk will receive such percentage
or proportional salary increases as may be provided for by general
law for other public employees and is entitled to receive the
annual incremental salary increase as provided for in article five,
chapter five of this code.
(c) The family court judge may employ not more than one family
case coordinator who serves at his or her will and pleasure. The
annual salary of the family case coordinator of the family court
judge shall be established by the Administrative Director of the
Supreme Court of Appeals but may not exceed thirty-six thousand
sixty dollars. The family case coordinator will receive such percentage or proportional salary increases as may be provided for
by general law for other public employees and is entitled to
receive the annual incremental salary increase as provided for in
article five, chapter five of this code.
(d) The sheriff or his or her designated deputy shall serve as
a bailiff for a family court judge. The sheriff of each county
shall serve or designate persons to serve so as to assure that a
bailiff is available when a family court judge determines the same
is necessary for the orderly and efficient conduct of the business
of the family court.
(e) Disbursement of salaries for family court judges and
members of their staffs are made by or pursuant to the order of the
Director of the Administrative Office of the Supreme Court of
Appeals.
(f) Family court judges and members of their staffs are
allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
performance of their duties. The expenses and compensation will be
determined and paid by the Director of the Administrative Office of
the Supreme Court of Appeals under such guidelines as he or she may
prescribe, as approved by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, family court
judges are not eligible to participate in the retirement system for
judges under the provisions of article nine of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the salaries of
Supreme Court Justices, circuit court judges, family court judges and magistrates.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.