89R13471 JTZ-F
By: Vasut H.B. No. 4080
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the compensation of a district judge and the associated
retirement benefits of certain other elected state officials.
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 and subject to
Subsections (b) and (b-1):
(1) a judge of a district court or a division of the
business court is entitled to an annual base salary from the state
as set by the General Appropriations Act in an amount equal to at
least $182,000 [$140,000], except that the combined base salary of
a district judge or judge of a division of the business court 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 maximum combined base
salary from all state and county sources for a justice of a court of
appeals other than a chief justice as determined under this
subsection;
(2) except as provided by Subdivision (3), a justice
of a court of appeals other than the chief justice is entitled to an
annual base salary from the state in the amount equal to 110 percent
of the state base salary of a district judge as set by the General
Appropriations Act, except that the combined base 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 base salary for a
justice of the supreme court as determined under this subsection;
(3) a justice of the Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth
Court of Appeals District other than the chief justice is entitled
to an annual base salary from the state in the amount equal to
$5,000 less than 120 percent of the state base salary of a district
judge as set by the General Appropriations Act;
(4) 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 base salary from the state
in the amount equal to 120 percent of the state base salary of a
district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act; and
(5) the chief justice or presiding judge of an
appellate court is entitled to an annual base salary from the state
in the amount equal to $2,500 more than the state base salary
provided for the other justices or judges of the court, except that
the combined base salary of the chief justice of a court of appeals
from all state and county sources may not exceed the amount equal to
$2,500 less than the base salary for a justice of the supreme court
as determined under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Sections 814.103(a) and (a-1), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) or (b), the
standard service retirement annuity for service credited in the
elected class of membership is an amount equal to the number of
years of service credit in that class, times 2.3 percent of $140,000
[the state base salary, excluding longevity pay payable under
Section 659.0445 and as adjusted from time to time, being paid to a
district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Section 659.012(a)].
(a-1) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the standard
service retirement annuity for service credited in the elected
class of membership for a member of the class under Section
812.002(a)(3) whose effective date of retirement is on or after
September 1, 2019, is an amount equal to the number of years of
service credit in that class, times 2.3 percent of the state salary,
excluding longevity pay payable under Section 659.0445 [and as
adjusted from time to time], being paid in accordance with Section
659.012 to a district judge who has the same number of years of
contributing service credit as the member on the member's last day
of service as a district or criminal district attorney, as
applicable.
SECTION 3. Section 834.102(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The base service retirement annuity for a person whose
effective date of retirement is:
(1) before September 1, 2019, is an amount equal to 50
percent of the state base salary[, as adjusted from time to time,]
being paid in accordance with Section 659.012(a) to a judge of a
court of the same classification as the court on which the retiree
last served before retirement; or
(2) on or after September 1, 2019, is an amount equal
to 50 percent of the state salary[, as adjusted from time to time,]
being paid in accordance with Section 659.012(b)(2) to a judge of a
court of the same classification as the court on which the retiree
last served before retirement.
SECTION 4. Notwithstanding Section 659.012(a), Government
Code, as amended by this Act, a judge of a district court is
entitled to an annual base salary from the state as set by the
General Appropriations Act in an amount equal to at least $165,000
for the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2025, and ending
August 31, 2026, and that amount is the annual base salary to be
used for the purpose of calculating any other judicial salaries by
reference to that section for the state fiscal year beginning
September 1, 2025, and ending August 31, 2026.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.