Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/30/2012 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB168 | |
| SB173 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 168 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 173 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 168-GEOGRAPHIC COLA FOR JUDGES
1:32:38 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 168.
DOUG WOOLIVER, Deputy Administrative Director, Alaska Court
System, stated that SB 168 was introduced by the Senate Rules
Committee by request of the Alaska Supreme Court. It seeks to
update the geographic differential statutes that apply to
judges. Under current law, employees in the executive and
judicial branches receive a geographic differential on their
salary to help offset the cost of living in the communities
where they live. Each community has an estimated cost of living
rate that is applied to the salaries of employees in that
community, but the rules for judges are different and have two
restrictions. The geographic differential for judges is limited
to 17.5 percent of the base salary, regardless of the cost of
living in the community, and it is applied to just the first
$40,000 of their salary. The most a judge can get for a
geographic cost of living adjustment is 17.5 percent of $40,000
or $7,000, whereas other state employees in some communities
receive a geographic cost of living adjustment in excess of
$30,000.
1:34:36 PM
The Legislature has approved geographic differentials in
recognition of the staggeringly high cost of living in many
rural areas of the state. Anyone who lives in rural Alaska and
works for the state has their salary adjusted so it is somewhat
commensurate with salaries in urban areas. However, judges in
rural Alaska are currently disadvantaged compared to judges in
urban Alaska. The Legislature has made geographic adjustments
for all other state employees and the court would like that
adjustment for judges as well. This is an act of fairness and
will also help address the challenge of filling vacancies in
rural communities. This has been a particular problem in Bethel
where the Judicial Council has struggled to find enough
qualified applicants. Upcoming vacancies in Nome and Barrow will
also be a challenge to fill. Adjusting the cost of living
allowance may not solve this problem, but it is one thing that
can be done.
MR. WOOLIVER clarified that the current law states that the
geographic differential is not applied to the judicial
retirement, and the bill does not seek to change that. What it
does seek to change is the geographic differential so that
judges are not disadvantaged simply because they live and work
in rural Alaska.
He reviewed a colored spreadsheet showing the various cost of
living adjustments, the number of judges in each community,
their base salaries, the current geographic differential, what
it would be under both the statutory differential- which is what
the non-covered employees in the Executive Branch receive, and
what it would be under the recently renegotiated union
contracts. He explained that this gives an idea of what other
employees get in terms of a differential and what judges get in
terms of a percentage of their current salary. For example, in
the Second Judicial District the differential is less than 4
percent of salary, whereas in Kotzebue under the recent union
contract it's 60 percent. The bill seeks to tie judges'
geographic differential to the statutory provisions that apply
to all the attorneys that appear before them. Whenever that
statute is changed, it would apply to judges as well.
1:39:03 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE joined the committee.
CHAIR FRENCH reviewed the columns in the chart. Column one shows
where the judge serves; column two gives the FY13 base salary;
and column three tells the current geographic differential,
which is capped at 17.5 percent.
MR. WOOLIVER reiterated that the differential applies to just
the first $40,000 of salary.
CHAIR FRENCH said the yellow column four shows the dollar amount
of the differential, up to a maximum of $7,000. Barrow, for
example, receives the maximum $7,000 bump to the $181,440 base
salary. He asked the meaning of column five that shows the
geographic differential percentage applicable to exempt
employees.
MR. WOOLIVER explained that those are non-union employees in the
executive branch, and they're governed by the statute referenced
in the bill.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if they are currently getting whatever the
geographic differential is, applied to their entire salary.
MR. WOOLIVER answered yes.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that the green column [six] shows what the
dollar amount would be if the percentage in column five were
applied to the judges' base salary in column one. The bill seeks
to add the amount in the green column to each judge's salary.
MR. WOOLIVER agreed.
CHAIR FRENCH asked for an explanation of columns seven and
eight.
MR. WOOLIVER replied they reflect the [percentage and dollar
amount] of the most recently negotiated union contracts. They
probably reflect the most recent thinking on the cost of living
in the various communities.
CHAIR FRENCH observed that if the bill were to pass the Barrow
judge's salary, for example, would be adjusted by 36.9 percent
and perhaps as much as 50 percent, given the new union
contracts.
MR. WOOLIVER responded the salary would go up whenever the
statute was changed, and that hasn't happened in a number of
years.
1:41:49 PM
CHAIR FRENCH said he understands the fairness issue, but wonders
whether judges' salaries haven't gotten larger increases in the
last several years to compensate for the fact that their
geographic differentials aren't as good.
MR. WOOLIVER said judges receive good salaries, but what the
bill tries to address is that under the current scheme, judges
living in Anchorage get a much better deal.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the court gets stronger applicant pools
for Anchorage judgeships than those in Barrow and Bethel.
MR. WOOLIVER replied that's almost always the case and probably
always will be, but salary shouldn't be another barrier to
getting strong pools in rural areas.
CHAIR FRENCH remarked that he understands the fairness issue,
but there's a certain amount of sticker shock looking at the
total amount. A Barrow judge, for example, would receive a
[$66,988-$7,000] geographic differential added to their base
salary.
MR. WOOLIVER agreed.
1:44:10 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he can understand the fairness, but in
some cases the judge is probably paid more than twice what the
average family earns. In Barrow, "the food's more expensive, the
fuel's more expensive; I just don't know if it's $90,000 more
expensive," he stated.
MR. WOOLIVER clarified that it would not be $90,000, but agreed
with the point. It's a lot of money.
CHAIR FRENCH asked how the geographic differential is
calculated.
MR. WOOLIVER replied the [percentages] in column five [non-
covered geo-diff percent applicable to exempt employees] were
set in statute a number of years ago.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if the Legislature developed the
differentials.
MR. WOOLIVER replied it was before he started as the liaison to
the Legislature. The McDowell group conducted a study in 2008,
and while the Legislature didn't amend the statute, it's that
kind of information that the unions rely on to make their
contracts reflect the current cost of living.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that the statute says the geographic
differential for Kotzebue is 36.9 percent, whereas the union
contract gives a 60 percent differential. He expressed interest
in knowing how the Legislature selected 17.5 percent of $40,000
as the maximum differential.
MR. WOOLIVER replied the committee minutes were not very
detailed when this was adopted in 1978, but the thinking was
that $40,000 was the portion of the salary that was spent on
living. He noted that when the statute was adopted for other
Executive Branch employees the geographic differential was not
limited to 17.5 percent.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked what $40,000 would be in 2012 dollars.
MR. WOOLIVER replied it was $73,000 in 2011 dollars.
SENATOR PASKVAN observed that if the same logic were applied,
the top differential would be 17.5 percent of $73,000.
MR. WOOLIVER said that's correct.
1:48:28 PM
SENATOR MCGUIRE asked for an update on efforts to get more women
on the bench, and how information came back to the court that
candidates were discouraged from applying for judgeships in
rural areas. She stated support for the bill, and asked what
data was used to support the request.
MR. WOOLIVER replied the evidence is anecdotal, largely from
sitting judges who are frustrated at the cost of living in rural
areas compared to what they would be making if they worked in
Anchorage. While salary isn't always the motivation for taking
the job, it just doesn't seem fair to pay a premium to work in
rural Alaska.
With respect to selecting more women to the bench, he said it's
better than it used to be in terms of getting applicants and
names sent to the governor. He recalled that he distributed
information last year on the Judicial Council's work looking at
the percentage of women in the bar, the percentage of women that
applied for judgeships and the percentage that applied and had
their name forwarded, "and it all does look pretty good through
that process." He highlighted that part of the focus of the
bench and bar program that Justice Dana Fabe helped put on last
summer was attracting more women to the bench, and that the
Dillingham superior court position was filled by the local
public defender who is a woman. Ironically, her geographic
differential will decrease from $30,000 as a DA to $7,000 now
that she's a judge.
SENATOR MCGUIRE expressed appreciation for Justice Fabe's
efforts and asked for more outreach. She said that she's spoken
to many women who would be excellent judges, but, in general,
they wait to be tapped. There's a cultural difference, and women
don't seem to be willing to put their name forward to be judged
by their peers. She urged more outreach and effort, particularly
in Anchorage, because victims of domestic violence and sexual
assault who believe that they would have a more friendly
audience in a courtroom with a female judge do not have that
opportunity in Alaska. "Let's beef up our efforts," she
concluded.
1:53:44 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked how much the base salary had increased
since the $40,000 was set in statute, and how much the average
wage in Alaska increased over that same time.
MR. WOOLIVER said he'd try to get the information.
CHAIR FRENCH suggested he contact economist Neal Fried.
SENATOR COGHILL asked how magistrates fit in the picture.
MR. WOOLIVER replied they're in the PERS system and therefore
get the full geographic differential on their full salary. It's
only appointed judges who do not.
SENATOR COGHILL asked what the starting salary is for a
magistrate.
MR. WOOLIVER replied he would follow up and provide salary
information for the four levels of magistrates.
SENATOR COGHILL commented that any sympathy he has is diminished
by his association with the Office of Children's Services. These
are range 15-18 employees that "literally run themselves to
death," yet their salary with the geo-diff barely gets them to
that [$40,000] cutoff point.
1:56:11 PM
CHAIR FRENCH responded the entire committee is feeling that.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked what the difference is between the
retirement systems for a magistrate and a judge.
MR. WOOLIVER replied magistrates are part of the Public Employee
Retirement System (PERS) and are Tier I-III defined benefit
retirement employees or Tier IV defined contribution retirement
employees. Judges are part of the Judicial Retirement System
(JRS) and receive a pension that is calculated on years of
service up to a maximum of 75 percent of a sitting judge's
salary.
CHAIR FRENCH commented that a friend is a retired judge and he
smiles broadly when he discusses his retirement.
SENATOR COGHILL said he understands that judges can be called
out of retirement to take caseloads. He asked if that is
discretionary.
MR. WOOLIVER responded it's discretionary on both sides. A judge
may remain eligible to serve pro tem and the court has the
discretion to select the retired judge. Many retired judges
continue to serve part time and the court system relies on them
heavily.
SENATOR COGHILL said he has great respect for the judges that
serve pro tem and he loses respect for those who decline.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if a pro tem judge receives retirement salary
plus pro tem compensation.
MR. WOOLIVER estimated that pro tem judges receive about $500
per day. If they are also drawing retirement, and not all are,
the combined pro tem and retirement pay cannot exceed a sitting
judge's salary.
SENATOR PASKVAN conveyed condolences to the family of the Sitka
magistrate who recently lost his life in an unfortunate
accident.
CHAIR FRENCH said it was a very sad story and noted that he was
a training magistrate who was looked to for leadership and
guidance.
2:00:02 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced he would hold SB 168 in committee
awaiting follow-up information.
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