Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 120
03/01/2013 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
Audio | Topic |
---|---|
Start | |
HB100 | |
HB81 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ | HB 100 | TELECONFERENCED | |
*+ | HB 81 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 100 - GEOGRAPHIC COLA FOR JUSTICES AND JUDGES 1:06:38 PM CHAIR KELLER announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 100, "An Act relating to the geographic cost-of- living adjustment to the salaries of supreme court justices, superior court judges, and district court judges; and providing for an effective date." 1:07:32 PM DOUG WOOLIVER, Deputy Administrative Director, Administrative Staff, Office of the Administrative Director, Alaska Court System (ACS), explained that HB 100 would update the statutes governing the geographic cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied to the salaries of Alaska's [justices and] judges. Under current law, employees in both the judicial and executive branches of government receive a COLA based on the cost of living in the communities in which they work, and this COLA is applied to their entire yearly salary. However, for [justices and] judges, the COLA is only applied to the first $40,000 of their yearly salary, and the maximum percentage by which that portion of their salary can then be adjusted is 17.5 percent, [but then only for justices and judges living in certain communities,] resulting in a maximum yearly COLA of only $7,000 for such a [justice or] judge under current law. In contrast, many [other ACS] employees receive a yearly COLA far in excess of $30,000. MR. WOOLIVER explained that via COLAs, the salaries of those serving in rural areas of the state can be made commensurate with the salaries of those serving in urban areas, something the legislature has long recognized the value of, having provided for COLAs in statute since 1966. The cost of living in Kotzebue, for example, is 60 percent higher [than in Anchorage]. However, under current law, a [justice or] judge working in Kotzebue "makes essentially the same as a [justice or] judge in Anchorage," he remarked, [instead of being provided the same COLA as other ACS employees serving in Kotzebue]. For Bethel, especially, recruitment of [justices and] judges has been a big challenge, in part because of the high cost of living in that community - approximately 50 percent higher than in Anchorage. Remarking on difficulties the Alaska Judicial Council (AJC) has had in filling judicial positions in rural communities, and on anticipated upcoming judicial vacancies, he acknowledged that an increase in the COLA for justices and judges won't necessarily solve the AJC's recruitment problem, but again pointed out that the high cost of living in rural communities is one of the main hurdles to judicial recruitment. 1:11:41 PM MR. WOOLIVER noted that under current law, the COLAs applied to the salaries of justices and judges are not also applied to their retirement [contributions/benefits]; HB 100 would not change this. Again, the goal is to update the statutes governing the COLA applied to the salaries of Alaska's [justices and] judges. Under the bill, the COLA would only be applied to the first $100,000 of a [justice or] judge's salary, but would be equal to the COLA received by other judicial-branch employees assigned to serve in that particular community. MR. WOOLIVER, in response to questions, relayed that the base salary of a supreme court justice, a superior court judge, and a district court judge is [$196,224], [$181,440], and [$153,840], respectively; that the COLA currently applied to the salaries of justices and judges serving in Fairbanks is [3.5 percent]; that currently the only Alaska Supreme Court justice whose salary would be impacted by the bill is Justice Daniel E. Winfree; that the reason for having the bill's proposed COLA apply only to the first $100,000 of a justice or judge's base salary is mainly to minimize the bill's fiscal impact as much as possible, as well as in recognition of the fact that at a certain point, a higher cost of living won't necessarily result in a continued increase in spending; and that no other state employee has his/her COLA applied to only a portion of his/her salary - all COLA's except for those applied to the salaries of justices and judges are applied to the employee's entire base salary, though what specific COLA is used varies [depending on which particular statute governs the employee's salary]. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he wouldn't have a problem with having the COLA apply to a justice or judge's full salary. MR. WOOLIVER - in response to other questions - indicated that compared to other states, Alaska ranks about in the middle in terms of what it pays its state justices and judges, and offered to research nationwide statistics regarding such salaries and associated COLAs further and provide that information to the committee. CHAIR KELLER indicated that he didn't have a problem with providing for a fair salary for Alaska's justices and judges, taking into account the state's current fiscal restraints, however. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT characterized the bill's proposed changes as substantial. MR. WOOLIVER mentioned that via a past iteration of the bill, the proposal was to have a justice or judge's COLA applied to his/her entire salary, and relayed that the ACS would be amenable to working on additional compromises regarding the bill's proposed changes. In response to further questions and comments, he provided additional information about the AJC's judicial-recruitment challenges in rural areas of the state, and again acknowledged that an increase in the COLA for justices and judges won't solve those challenges, adding, however, that what can be done is to at least make the salaries more commensurate, in a real sense, with that received in the urban areas. CHAIR KELLER relayed that HB 100 would be held over.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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HB 100 Hearing Request.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 100 |
HB 100 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 100 |
HB 100 ver. U.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 100 |
HB 100 Fiscal Note Court System.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 100 |
HB 100 Support Document--Review of Geographic Cost Differentials.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 100 |
HB 81 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 81 |
HB 81 Sectional Summary.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 81 |
HB 81 ver. N.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 81 |
HB 81 Fiscal Note-Department of Law.pdf |
HJUD 3/1/2013 1:00:00 PM |
HB 81 |